Criteo was a retargeting business for years. As Joe Zappa of Sharp Pen Media points out, four years ago, Criteo’s stock hit a low of $7, largely due to their reliance on retargeting, which was under threat from the impending end of third-party cookies.
Today in 2024 things look a lot different after a string of acquisitions.
Criteo’s retail media business had revenues of $50.2 million in Q1 2024 – up from $37.4 million during the same period in 2023. The other part of Criteo – the legacy retargeting business, made $399.2 million in Q1, down from $407 million a year ago.
Criteo is reportedly in talks regarding to buy Skai in a nine-figure deal – formerly known as Kenshoo when it focused on social media.
This potential acquisition follows Criteo’s secured a significant distribution deal for their Retail Media products with Media analyst, Karsten Weide believing that Retail Media does not appear to be its primary revenue driver — that honour belongs to its omnichannel DSP. His best guess is that retail media accounts for only 15% to 25% of Skai’s total sales.
However, there are other parts of Skai that could be interesting to Criteo according to Weide:
- Staff talent
- The tech in the form of an omnichannel DSP specialised in ecommerce campaigns, adding to its commerce capabilities
- Skai’s Search, Social, and App Marketing products could also be valuable additions, especially the latter two
- A 15% boost in net revenues.
However,IWeide is sceptical: “if the primary goal of this potential acquisition is to strengthen Criteo’s Retail Media business, does Skai’s Retail Media product bring enough value to justify a half-billion-dollar price tag?”
The list of acquisitions made by Criteo to build out its Retail Media capabilities is impressive:
- Gradient – 2021
- Brandcrush – 2021
- Iponweb – 2021
- Storetail – 2018
- Mabaya – 2018
- HookLogic – 2016
Criteo paid handsomely for some of these acquisitions – around $250m for Hooklogic, for example. Skai would come at an even higher price tag. Criteo have also inked some high profile partnerships with Microsoft Advertising and Omnicom recently.
The questions remains: has Criteo reinvented itself?
In its latest earnings call, CEO Megan Clarken stated: “Our vision is quickly coming to life as we continue to transform our company into a commerce media powerhouse.”
Criteo’s demand-side platform now enables advertisers to buy media from 225 retailers. The company has streamlined its strategy, focussing on Retail Media.
Back to Joe Zappa: he points out that a stock price isn’t the only measure of success, but the share price is $48 today, just 10% below its all-time high. Rebranding and shifting a company’s core focus is challenging, but Criteo has managed to do it effectively, and the market has taken notice.
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OPINION Has Criteo achieved a successful reinvention?
Colin Lewis
Criteo was a retargeting business for years. As Joe Zappa of Sharp Pen Media points out, four years ago, Criteo’s stock hit a low of $7, largely due to their reliance on retargeting, which was under threat from the impending end of third-party cookies.
Today in 2024 things look a lot different after a string of acquisitions.
Criteo’s retail media business had revenues of $50.2 million in Q1 2024 – up from $37.4 million during the same period in 2023. The other part of Criteo – the legacy retargeting business, made $399.2 million in Q1, down from $407 million a year ago.
Criteo is reportedly in talks regarding to buy Skai in a nine-figure deal – formerly known as Kenshoo when it focused on social media.
This potential acquisition follows Criteo’s secured a significant distribution deal for their Retail Media products with Media analyst, Karsten Weide believing that Retail Media does not appear to be its primary revenue driver — that honour belongs to its omnichannel DSP. His best guess is that retail media accounts for only 15% to 25% of Skai’s total sales.
However, there are other parts of Skai that could be interesting to Criteo according to Weide:
However,IWeide is sceptical: “if the primary goal of this potential acquisition is to strengthen Criteo’s Retail Media business, does Skai’s Retail Media product bring enough value to justify a half-billion-dollar price tag?”
The list of acquisitions made by Criteo to build out its Retail Media capabilities is impressive:
Criteo paid handsomely for some of these acquisitions – around $250m for Hooklogic, for example. Skai would come at an even higher price tag. Criteo have also inked some high profile partnerships with Microsoft Advertising and Omnicom recently.
The questions remains: has Criteo reinvented itself?
In its latest earnings call, CEO Megan Clarken stated: “Our vision is quickly coming to life as we continue to transform our company into a commerce media powerhouse.”
Criteo’s demand-side platform now enables advertisers to buy media from 225 retailers. The company has streamlined its strategy, focussing on Retail Media.
Back to Joe Zappa: he points out that a stock price isn’t the only measure of success, but the share price is $48 today, just 10% below its all-time high. Rebranding and shifting a company’s core focus is challenging, but Criteo has managed to do it effectively, and the market has taken notice.
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