Online retailer Daraz is investing $56 million into creating beachheads on so-called ‘frontier markets’ in Asia: Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Daraz is the leader in online retail in all three markets, selling apparel, accessories, shoes and beauty products for men and women, as well as a wide variety of electronics and general merchandise.
The company is part of the Rocket Internet group which also owns Zalora and Foodpanda.
It is planning a ‘mega sale’ on November 27, something like Amazon’s Black Friday in the US, offering a slew of special deals in the three Asian nations.
Bangladesh, where it is putting most of its focus currently, will get the majority of the marketing spend, where it is partnering with local apparel brands such as Bata, Yellow and Ecstasy, as well as tech partners.
Daraz Bangladesh chairman Sumeet Singh says the local site is attracting around 2 million visitors a month.