Two Indonesian ecommerce companies are forced to cut costs.
Yesterday, Tech in Asia learned that fashion startup Sale Stock let go of 220 people. The figure was reported by one of the employees affected by the cut. The employee added most of those laid off were from the customer service department.
Via a spokesperson, Sale Stock co-founder and CEO Lingga Madu confirmed to Tech in Asia that layoffs occured, though he didn’t give an exact number. He admitted that it affected more than 100 people and that the company trimmed overall salaries by 13 percent.
Despite this, Sale Stock is still in the process of hiring new personnel for technical positions.
Sale Stock is a mobile-first ecommerce startup that sells its own women’s fashion label at affordable prices. It’s funded by Ardent Capital and became part of Wavemaker’s portfolio when the two funds recently merged.
Wavemaker hasn’t responded to requests for comment.
Berrybenka sees “minor” cuts
Berrybenka CEO Jason Lamuda.
Sale Stock isn’t alone. Another fashion ecommerce startup that recently let go of staff is Berrybenka.
CEO Jason Lamuda told Tech in Asia that the layoffs were “minor,” but didn’t answer how many employees were affected. “Our plan is still the same: keep healthy growth and further boost profitability.”
Berrybenka’s last disclosed round of funding was in 2013, when it received US$5 million from TransCosmos and Gree – a sum that pales compared with the reources available to some startups in the same category, like Rocket Internet’s regionally operating Zalora.
Time to buckle down
What’s happening to the employees?
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