In Southeast Asia, Thailand’s WhatsNew thinks it can best Rocket Internet at ecommerce

Thailand’s rising ecommerce conglomerate WhatsNew Group has today announced the acquisition of one of Thailand’s top online lifestyle stores, MOXY, for an undisclosed sum. It will be Ardent Capital-backed WhatsNew’s fifth ecommerce store, joining its other holding companies Petloft, Venbi, Sanoga, and Lafema.

The acquisition will essentially “add a leading lifestyle vertical and expand its [Whatsnew] product selection beyond commodities,” according to a statement. WhatsNew CEO Thai Bounthay Khammanyvong explains to Tech in Asia that the decision to acquire instead of building on its own was made in the interest of rapid growth.

In emerging markets like Southeast Asia, supplier relationships take a long time to build and getting the quality and amount of inventory MOXY had already built would have taken massive time and effort […] The rapid growth of ecommerce in Southeast Asia has resulted in both internal and external competitive forces, with international players such as Alibaba and Amazon looking to enter the market. Unlike in China where Alibaba and Jingdong still largely enjoy a closed market, ecommerce players here have to move fast to stay competitive. Acquisition is the fastest and most strategic way to grow.

He adds that female-centric ecommerce – a US$970 billion market, according to MOXY founder Shannon Kalayanamitr – is by far the hardest vertical to build. In his view, MOXY makes for an excellent foundation to start with.

“Female content, community, and commerce is the future, and with the MOXY acquisition we are adding a strong woman leader with a female centric brand that encompasses the 3C vision,” Khammanyvong elaborates. “We acquired MOXY because of its women DNA, and that is a clear marker in the sand for our direction moving forward – applying technology to solve women’s problems.”

Kalayanamitr will become the Group’s chief marketing officer, and all three MOXY founders will maintain a stake in the company as a show of confidence in WhatsNew’s model.

“Many brands don’t want to put their products into online marketplaces for fear of cheapening their brand image,” says Kalayanamitr. “We joined forces with WhatsNew because they shared our vision in the rise of the boutiques and lifestyle [and] our mission to build a multi-million dollar internet company that tailors to this fast growing and highly influential demographic [women].”

Not Quidsi, not Rocket Internet

WhatsNew’s model is similar to Quidsi in the US, which was acquired by Amazon back in 2010 for US$550 million. Quidsi owned three ecommerce verticals when it was bought over – it today owns 10 verticals – and the question is whether WhatsNew is heading down the same path.

Getting acquired or going public, however, isn’t Khammanyvong’s primary focus – WhatsNew’s long-term growth is his main objective:

Our goal is to build the female economy, to make life easier for women. If we remain number one in the categories we are in, it would be stupid to sell. The path to IPO makes the most sense. But if we cannot win our category and have to battle it out with other players, then a partnership with a bigger player to win the market would be the best strategic play. If you’re number one, why would you sell?