Bukalapak’s business model has shifted – so have its numbers

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Hello reader,

Pivots are part and parcel of life. I’ve done it a couple of times professionally, moving from law to investment banking and then to tech/financial journalism. You don’t always get it right. Sometimes you fall flat on your face, but you also usually come out stronger. 

Companies have to pivot, too. Many do so under the glare of public markets. For example, Netflix (NFLX, NASDAQ) famously transitioned from being a mail-order DVD service to a streaming giant. 

Others have been less successful. Zillow (ZG, NASDAQ) tried to use the data it collects from its property listings business to go into instant home buying (ibuying) – hoping to profit from flipping houses on its own. 

However, the data was less accurate than expected, leading Zillow to overpay for houses and lose big. Wider market turbulence and its withdrawal from the ibuying business have sent Zillow’s shares down 85% since their peak in February 2021. 

Similarly, Indonesia’s Bukalapak (BUKA, IDX) has had to pivot its business, though perhaps in a less dramatic fashion. 

Bukalapak started out in 2010 as an ecommerce platform. However, in 2017, the company launched its Mitra business, an online-to-offline solution to help small retailers (called warungs) in Indonesia procure physical goods to sell. 

As my colleague Aditya explores in this week’s Big Story, Mitra has grown tremendously since then, and it now accounts for a majority of Bukalapak’s revenue. This has helped the company continue posting strong revenue growth, despite its marketplace losing some ground to rivals Tokopedia and Shopee in Indonesia. 

The Mitra business model also has a different cost structure from the consumer marketplace model. This has made a positive impact on Bukalapak’s expenses and bottom line, which Aditya analyzes more thoroughly in the story. 

For now, Bukalapak’s pivot appears to be a success. Yet it cannot rest on its laurels, as many other players try to carve out their piece of the pie. 

— Simon

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THE BIG STORY

Mitra has flattered Bukalapak’s financials, but new challenges await

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3 Trends to keep an eye on

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2 Eye-popping facts

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The one you didn’t see coming

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