Ninja Van looks beyond ecommerce logistics amid price war

IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• Ninja Van’s declining revenue and widening losses in FY 2023 and its goal of hitting EBITDA breakeven in the next 12 months
• Indonesia-based Blibli’s growing share of revenue from physical stores in FY 2023 after an aggressive offline expansion
• Carro’s positive adjusted EBITDA achievement in FY 2023, even as losses hit US$94 million

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Hi there,

The logistics industry in Southeast Asia has undergone a transformation in recent years. These days, many ecommerce players are building their own logistics fleet, as we’ve seen from Shopee, Lazada, and Tokopedia.

This has prompted existing third-party logistics (3PL) firms to diversify their services, given that shipment volume from ecommerce platforms will inevitably decrease. Additionally, there is still intense price competition among 3PL players – an ongoing challenge for years.

Singapore-based Ninja Van, for instance, has been exploring new services such as Ninja Mart, a B2B service for fast-moving consumer goods, as well as cold chain logistics.

In its earnings report for the financial year ended June 2023, the company reported that sales from Ninja Mart doubled year on year. Although its overall revenue contribution is still small – at under 20% – Ninja Van CEO Lai Chang Wen claims the service has better unit economics than ecommerce logistics.

As my colleague Simon notes in this week’s Big Story, Lai’s diversification strategy might be a glimmer of hope for the company, whose revenue was down by 7% year on year and operating losses widened by 32% during the period.

Meanwhile, I analyze Blibli’s bet to invest heavily in physical stores to differentiate itself from other ecommerce players in this week’s Hot Take. Expanding its offline presence has been Blibli’s focus in recent years – and it might be paying off.

— Jofie

THE BIG STORY

Ninja Van eyes path beyond ecommerce as price war dents FY23 earnings

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Between FY 2023 and FY 2022, Ninja Van saw its top line grow by 93% in Singapore, 24% in Vietnam, and 11% in Malaysia.

THE HOT TAKE

NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

FYI