Lazada Indonesia: JP Morgan Investment Won’t Change Our Management System

Just recently, we got confirmation that JP Morgan has made an investment in Rocket Internet’s Asia-oriented e-commerce site Lazada. It’s natural for readers to be curious what changes are in store for both the customers and the whole Lazada team in Southeast Asia after such a major investment (it’s rumored to exceed $50 million). To answer that question, we talked to Magnus Ekbom, Lazada Indonesia’s managing director, and Rizki Suluh Adi, the VP of marketing and business development.

So what will life be like with JP Morgan? Magnus said that there will be no changes for either the customers or Lazada’s operations – but he did tease some major new developments during the course of our chat. Magnus added that though JP Morgan comes from a very different perspective, the bankers share Lazada’s very optimistic view of the Southeast Asian market.

Lazada Indonesia has grown insanely fast since its launch at the end of March. Magnus explained that the first month they were busy setting up infrastructure like customer service, the supply chain, and other operational activities including building the warehouse and distribution capacity. From then on, Lazada entered the “growth expansion phase” in June; that’s where the team starts to aim for growth. Magnus adds:

If that [the infrastructure system] is not in place and you start to grow – [it’s a] disaster! We can’t let that happen. So first, build operation capacity, then grow, and now we’re in the growth phase.

Magnus explains that they are very proud of the statistics that they have – but for one or two reasons which involve the company’s investors, they can’t share any of those numbers.

Lazada Working Culture

When asked about the departure of Susie Sugden, the previous managing director of Lazada Indonesia, Magnus played down the news. He said that it’s natural for people to come and go in any companies in the world, and tech blogs, he says, are making a lot of fuss about it. Sometimes people leave for different reasons, maybe for family reasons, reckons Magnus.

Regarding the management culture at Lazada, Magnus then added that the company values its 200 employees very highly. He wants to make a culture where they recognize the hard working people there. He also sees the Lazada office not only as a place to race, but for people to come and be energized. Magnus said, “Our staff is the most valuable thing we have.”

Magnus shared that to make its employees feel valued, the company must be transparent to them. It is about having one team working together in the same direction. He also encourages the employees to take on responsibilities by giving them authority and chances to grow. He believes that if people feel challenged, then they will grow and perform better. He added: