GudangAda founder and CEO Stevensang / Photo credit: GudangAda
Indonesian B2B ecommerce company GudangAda has “categorically denied” that it has any plans for winding down operations in the short term. According to a statement, the company “remains operational” and is diversifying into new categories, such as beauty and personal care, that have shown promise.
The statement comes after DealStreetAsia reported that GudangAda’s board is mulling options that include winding down operations. The board is also reportedly considering returning capital to investors as it deliberates on the business’ future, though it has not made a decision, the report said.
On the latter point, the GudangAda statement said that discussions around business refocus or strategies are “routine processes.” Any decisions on capital allocation will be communicated “with full transparency and in due course,” the company said.
The firm also touted the “significant growth” of its new categories, which it said made up as much as 37% of overall revenue in February 2024.
B2B ecommerce startups have struggled of late. In India, Udaan sacked at least 100 employees in December 2023.
Indonesia-based Ula, meanwhile, also cut jobs and exited its FMCG distribution model in October. It’s still unclear what business the company will pivot to.
GudangAda, for its part, saw revenue soar 10x to US$50 million in the 2022 financial year, its most recent publicly available financials. However, the company failed to reach its past goal of breaking even by that year, with losses widening to US$33 million.
The company last raised US$100 million in July 2021 for its series B round, which brought its total funds raised to US$135 million.
See also: Ula, Udaan’s struggles cast shadow on B2B ecommerce’s future
Editing by Jaclyn Tiu
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