Berrybenka wants to be the ASOS of Indonesia, talks about recent investment

Indonesia’s female fashion e-commerce Berrybenka ¹ recently closed one of the biggest series B investment rounds in the country: $5 million. The company is on a fast rise as it closes its second funding round this year. The company houses products from 500 brands and is looking forward to 2014.

Berrybenka president director Jason Lamuda reveals that they want to be the number one go-to fashion e-commerce platform in Indonesia, similar to ASOS in Europe and Zozotown in Japan. Right now, Berrybenka focuses mainly on women’s fashion, but it is very likely that they will expand to men’s fashion in the future.

Fundraising

Berrybenka has raised three investment rounds from TransCosmos, GREE Ventures, and East Ventures in the last two years. Lamuda explains that these investors believe in the team’s vision and about Indonesia’s vast e-commerce potential. Furthermore, Berrybenka seeks more value than just funding from its investors. These values can come in the form of networks, future fundraising help, or operational expertise.

When it comes to convincing investors to plough in as much as $5 million for a series B round in Indonesia, Lamuda says they need to tick the different objectives that the investors have in mind. Another way to convince investors is by adapting proven business models used in other markets like in Japan, India, China, and Europe.

Lamuda adds that whether or not your business needs huge capital is relative to the team’s vision. If your goal is to become the Tmall or ASOS of Indonesia, then capital is indeed needed.

E-commerce tips

Lamuda, who previously co-founded and exited daily deals site Disdus ², shares three basic factors any e-commerce players should heed if they want to make it in Indonesia.

First is understanding and ensuring the products you sell are great and have competitive price points. This is what the team does, making sure that the customers feel they get the best deal. There are also quite a few items that are sold exclusively on Berrybenka.

Second is having a deep understanding of your customers and treating them well. This understanding will determine where you advertise and how you can maximize returning customers for the highest lifetime value.

Third is to always hire the best and most motivated team. It doesn’t matter how big you want to grow your company; if you want to make sure it runs well with good cash flow, then having a good A-team is essential.

Scaling up

On Berrybenka’s back-end, Lamuda explains the company operates on a consignment basis with its partners. This means that brands will place their products in Berrybenka’s warehouses and the team will take care the rest, whether it be a photoshoot, order fulfillment, or shipping to customers.

Back in the early days, the team spent a lot of effort and time to get small local brands to join Berrybenka, convincing them one by one so that they could increase their sales through the internet. “Slowly we managed to build a good brand image and more brands wanted to partner with us,” says Lamuda.

More fashion please!