Indonesian brand aggregator Hypefast lays off 30% of staff

An Hypefast offline store in Jakarta / Photo credit: Hypefast

Hypefast, an Indonesia-based brand aggregator, has laid off 30% of its workforce as the company looks to maintain its profitability. However, the total number of employees affected by the layoffs has not been disclosed.

Despite having been profitable since early 2022, Hypefast chose to downsize in preparation for potential challenges in 2024, the firm told Tech in Asia Indonesia. These include rising costs of sales due to increased merchant fees from partners, higher logistics expenses, and the current macroeconomic conditions.

Co-founder and CEO Achmad Alkatiri said that with the move, the firm aims to remain profitable, hit positive free cash flow, and generate continued revenue growth.

The company will provide affected employees with health insurance for their families until the end of 2023, offer outplacement support, and allow more flexible timing for employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) tax payments.

Established in January 2020, Hypefast helps local brands with revenues exceeding 500 million rupiah (US$32,627) develop their businesses, particularly through online sales channels. The firm also offers debt capital to those brands.

According to Alkatiri, Hypefast reported a net revenue of US$43 million in 2022, nearly doubling its figure from the year prior, which stood at US$22 million.

See also: After layoffs, Zenius bets on offline learning in revival strategy

The company raised US$22 million in November 2021 from investors including Monk’s Hill Ventures, Jungle Ventures, Strive, Amand Ventures, and Arkblu Capital.

Currency converted from Indonesian rupiah to US dollar: US$1 = 15,461 rupiah.

A version of this article was originally published by Gilang Kharisma on Tech in Asia Indonesia.