[Edaily Reporter KYUNG GYEYOUNG ] CJ OnStyle, the e-commerce division of CJ ENM CO., Ltd.(035760), saw a decline in both revenue and profitability in the third quarter. This was due to the third quarter being a traditional off-season, compounded by the impact of proactive investments.

CJ Corp. announced on the 5th that its third-quarter revenue and operating profit stood at 348.9 billion won and 6.7 billion won, respectively. These figures represent decreases of 1.9% and 46.8%, respectively, compared to the third quarter of last year. The operating profit margin was 1.9%, down 1.62 percentage points from a year ago.

Behind the decline in both revenue and profitability lies Mobile Content Commerce (MLC), which CJ Corp. has identified as a future growth engine. The increase in the proportion of MLC-related consignment products led to a decrease in revenue, and operating profit also fell as the company ramped up investment in MLC. Investment also increased in the development of “OnTner,” a creator business platform.

CJ OnStyle noted that these investments are beginning to pay off. Third-quarter MLC sales volume reached 163.4 billion won, a 104.1% increase year-over-year. This figure combines live streaming, short-form video, and creator commerce, with creator commerce and short-form video sales volume driving the growth with increases of 172% and 129%, respectively.

In addition, through collaborations with entertainment intellectual property (IP) such as “Pagimchi Gang” and “izna,” mobile app downloads and monthly active users (MAU) grew by 10.6% and 11.0%, respectively, compared to the third quarter of last year. Total sales volume was recorded as having increased by 5.8%.

A CJ Corp. official emphasized, “Operating profit declined in the third quarter due to proactive investments to secure future growth engines, such as mobile platform upgrades and the development of the OnTner platform,” adding, “In the fourth quarter, we plan to expand our creator commerce business based on OnTner while targeting peak-season demand through major year-end promotions.”