Lazada raises another $250 million, totalling $486 million in funding so far

Rocket Internet’s e-commerce ventures are on a roll. After just recently announcing $112 million in funding for fashion e-commerce sites Zalora and The Iconic last week, today its sister site Lazada also announces a staggering $250 million fresh fund from a group of investors which includes Tesco PLC, Access Industries, as well as current investors Investment AB Kinnevik and Verlinvest. Together with its previous rounds, today’s announcement means that Lazada has so far raised $486 million.

Lazada points out that this move marks Tesco’s first-ever investment to a pure e-commerce venture in the region. Both parties will work closely in various areas including customer analytics, private label development, and supply chain management. Tesco’s group multichannel director Robin Terrell comments about the investment:

This investment in Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce retailer continues our strategy of developing leading multichannel businesses in core growth markets. Lazada is an exciting, pioneering business which has developed a market-leading offer in each of its five markets in just 18 months. As Southeast Asia’s 600 million consumers begin to use smartphone technology to access retailers online, Lazada has established a strong position from which to grow.

So far Lazada houses around 1,500 employees in five Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Recently the e-commerce giant launched a C2C marketplace called Lamido in Indonesia and Vietnam.

(Editing by Charlie Custer)