Online fashion retailer Zalora Indonesia is planning to expand its marketplace, increase the number of brands it hawks and target the growing population of buyers using smartphone to boost sales.
Zalora’s Marketplace initiative was launched last year to give an online platform to independent designers and sellers, who can create their own branded storefront within the retailer’s site.
The company currently manages 500 small medium enterprises (SMEs) and aims to increase these numbers significantly in the coming years.
Managing director of Zalora Indonesia Anthony Fung, Marketplace is become a promising business in Indonesia following the government’s plans to boost SMEs or startup companies in the country.
Speaking at a press conference, Fung said, the company was looking at ways to boost the customer base through mobile phone users.
“We have seen a big shift in consumer behavior. We are investing a lot of money in marketing and add more people to do mobile apps,” he told reporters at a press conference at Zalora’s office in Jakarta.
The company said, a lot of its customers actually access the e-commerce platform using their smart mobile phones. Hence, the company will invest more to maintain mobile apps. According to the Zalora’s head of marketing, Jo Bjordal, mobile users in Indonesia are below 1 per cent of total retail users while in China the figure is 8 per cent. In five to10 years from now, he said, Indonesian mobile users will reach that level (8 per cent).
In Asia, Zalora has drawn up marketing campaigns and promotions to boost sales in the upcoming festive season. Zalora plans to hold several events to boost their sales in coming months in Indonesia and Southeast Asian countries. In Indonesia, Zalora will hold a month-long discount called Zalora Great Sale starting October 6. Zalora will hold 11/11 Online Revolution on November 11 in collaboration with China’s Alibaba, Cyber Monday, Black Friday, Christmas sale November 27 to December 25, and National Online Shopping Day on December 12.
Bjordal said, last year, during the Zalora Great Sale programme, the orders saw a 10-fold increase in one day compared to regular days.
Zalora is a part of Global Fashion Group–which counts AB Kinnevik and Rocket Internet as lead investors–that operates through five leading fashion e-commerce companies, India’s Jabong, Latin America’s Dafiti, Russia’s Lamoda, Namshi in the Middle East, and Zalora in South East Asia and Australia.
“We have a footprint around the world today. We are the number one fashion e-commerce platform in emerging markets. Zalora now has presence in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Hong Kong,” Fung stated.
Zalora started its Indonesian operation in 2012.
So far, Fung said, Zalora offers 1,200 brands in Indonesia and there were plans to increase this number to 3,000 over the next six months.
He noted it was easier now to add brands as consumers were now familiar with Zalora brands.
The company revealed that 70 per cent of Zalora customers were female in the 18-40 years bracket.
Warehouse and Brands
Zalora Indonesia, which set up its new warehouse in Cibitung, Bekasi, West Java province in April this year, claims the warehouse can store up to 2 million products, making it possibly the largest such facility in the country. Zalora has a physical store in Kota Kasablanka and also in HK and Philipines.
Zalora partners with over 1,000 local and international brands. Zalora plans to invest in the merchandising market and acquire local brands in Indonesia. Zalora will continue to be aggressive in brand acquisition, Anthony Fung said.