Criteo’s new CEO has his work cut out for him.
When Michael Komasinski replaces Megan Clarken on February 15, the executive will face a unique set of challenges.
When Clarken became CEO in 2019, retail media was a considerably smaller space with fewer players involved. While Clarken has successfully moved some of Criteo’s business into retail media and away from retargeting, Criteo now faces much more competition as retail media has become a booming industry, every retailer, agency and ad tech company wanting a piece of the market.
The industry is also facing slower growthholding company shakeups, increased M&A action, and the fact that Criteo’s revenue still comes largely from cookie-dependent retargeting. Retail media represents 22% of Criteo’s revenue.
Criteo is the largest independent adtech player in the retail media sector, with a market capitalization of $2.1 billion at the time of publishing this article.
Several analysts and experts ADWEEK spoke with raised a central question regarding Komasinski’s hiring: Criteo’s endgame? How Komasinski guides the company through these challenges could help highlight that.
“There are huge growth opportunities in media today with new advancements in AI and the global rise of e-commerce, which are driving hyper-personalized touchpoints with consumers across more content and content. “devices than ever before,” Komasinski said in a statement announcing his appointment. “[Criteo] has built incredible strengths in the field of AI over the years to deliver compelling business solutions to our clients and drive shareholder value.
Criteo did not respond to a request for additional comment.
Announcement holding companies draw lines on retail media
Fresh off five years at Dentsu, Komasinski brings an agency perspective to Criteo that could serve the company well as M&A action changes the dynamic between retail ad tech companies and holding companies.
“Most in the [retail media network] space are looking to improve partnerships between agencies,” an agency manager told ADWEEK. “Criteo was early there.”
Omnicom’s proposed takeover of IPG, announced in December, would consolidate more retail media technologies into the combined holding company through a series of acquisitions, including Flywheel, Acxiom and Intelligence node.
If the deal goes through, analysts and experts previously told ADWEEK that the IPG-Omnicom retail media business would have a more competitive advantage against Publicis Groupe, which has also invested heavily in retail media technology acquisitions in recent years.
With more mergers and acquisitions planned throughout 2025, Komasinski could help foster agency relationships at a critical time for Criteo.
“We don’t yet know Criteo’s long-term ambition,” Dan Maguire, director of retail media at Gale, told ADWEEK. “Is this to become another CitrusAd? March? Flying?”
Retail media growth slows
As retail media spending is expected to reach 60 billion dollars this year, according to Emarketer, growth began to slow.
“Retail media growth is slowing due to some of the biggest players reaching saturation on their properties,” Sarah Marzano, principal analyst at Emarketer, told ADWEEK.
At the same time, the retail media space is becoming increasingly crowded. Retailers and e-commerce companies continue to launch new advertising activitiesas ad tech companies emerge or pivot to solve the challenges advertisers face when juggling dozens, if not hundreds, of different retail media networks.
Amazon, for example, is launch a new product This will help retailers expand their advertising business and find potential advertisers. Until now, Amazon only sold advertisements on its own behalf.
“For long-tail retail media networks to succeed, they must overcome advertisers’ reluctance to navigate a fragmented landscape,” Marzano said. “If Criteo can position itself as a balm for retail media networks and advertisers seeking efficiency and scalability, it will play a valuable role in the future growth of retail media.”
Slower growth could also lead to more mergers and acquisitions in retail media, noted Andrew Lipsman, an independent retail media analyst.
“There will probably be consolidation [and] the aggregation of retail media networks over the next couple of years as many come to terms with the fact that they are not viable independently,” Lipsman said. “Criteo is well placed to weather this tailwind. »
Most of Criteo’s activities still rely on cookies
While Clarken has guided Criteo into the retail media era, powering 225 retail media programs for companies like Target, JCPenney and Walgreens, the majority of the company’s revenue comes from cookie-dependent ad retargeting.
One of Komasinski’s challenges will be increasing revenue from retail media as the industry moves away from cookies.
“Criteo’s performance will increasingly depend on its ability to successfully diversify beyond cookie-based retargeting,” Marzano said. “Looking ahead, we can expect a continued focus on retail media and other privacy-focused solutions, but there may be a period where overall revenue growth is moderate.”
