In recent years, Chinese cross-border sellers have been “rushing” into Southeast Asia mainly through two aspects: on the one hand, they have invested heavily in the Southeast Asian e-commerce sector, and on the other hand, they have also grafted and transferred their capital model, platform model, community model, etc. to Southeast Asia. In 2016, Alibaba Group took control of Lazada and gradually integrated it into its logistics, payment, data platform and other systems. In March 2018, after Alibaba Group invested an additional US$2 billion in the Lazada platform, its actual control reached 83%. At the same time, Alibaba Group has repeatedly invested in Tokopedia, a major e-commerce platform in Indonesia. Tencent holds a 39% stake in Sea, the parent company of Shopee. In addition to markets such as Indonesia and Thailand, JD.com has also invested in Tiki, a major e-commerce platform in Vietnam. In 2018, Lightinthebox acquired Singapore’s e-commerce ezbuy for US$85.55 million. More Chinese companies have also entered the Southeast Asian cross-border e-commerce field in various forms. In addition, Amazon and Facebook are also making layouts in Southeast Asia. The entry of powerful sellers has made Southeast Asia the hottest e-commerce battlefield in the world. Southeast Asian e-commerce has been considered one of the most promising areas for development in the region in the future.
One of the largest e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia
In 2012, Lazada (Chinese name: Lazada) was officially established in Southeast Asia. It adopted a self-operated model and took the lead in entering five major markets (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam). It introduced the “Double 11” for the first time in Southeast Asia and was the first e-commerce company in Southeast Asia to provide cash on delivery services. In 2013, Lazada launched the “last mile” delivery service and launched the Lazada mobile app. Tesco participated in the investment in Lazada. In 2014, Temasek invested in Lazada’s first free warehouse in Vietnam and opened the sixth station (Singapore Station) to fully provide FBL services (Lazada internal delivery services). In 2016, Alibaba invested in Lazada, increased its capital in the second year and took full control, connecting the Lazada system with the Alibaba system, and strategically upgraded and empowered it in terms of platform, products and logistics. In 2017, Alibaba invested more money to acquire Singaporean e-commerce company RedMart, fully upgraded logistics, and used Alibaba’s underlying technology and large-scale platforms to enable Lazada’s front-end products to be iterated more quickly without duplication. On the one hand, it facilitates the interaction between consumers and sellers, and on the other hand, it can quickly expand high-quality products and operating methods to other markets. In 2018, “Ali Energy” was fully injected into the release of Lazada Wallet.
Currently, Lazada is using emerging technologies to redefine the retail experience, using big data to quickly adapt to changing needs and conditions, connecting consumers with brands, and creating personalized experiences. At the same time, its cross-border business is growing rapidly, with a growth rate of more than 100% for five consecutive years. It has now become one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia with 640 million consumers in six countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.