Melissa Goh · · 4 min readWith profits in the bag, Zalora is still a force to be reckoned with
Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a premium subscription.
Hi readers,
We often hear about and celebrate successes but forget failures.
It’s been quite the contrary for Zalora, founded in 2012 by Rocket Internet – the Berlin-based venture builder led by the Samwer brothers. Zalora was, at the time, one of the few local ecommerce marketplaces that one could shop at.
It was like Asos but built for a Southeast Asian audience – which was exactly the business.
In the years since, Lazada, then Shopee, and numerous direct-to-consumer brands have joined the fray. Shein has taken the region by storm with its unbelievably low prices. The popularity of livestreaming, a trend that gained traction during the Covid-19 pandemic, also paved the way for TikTok Shop to take hold.
So I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Zalora had quietly become profitable in 2022 after achieving a positive EBITDA margin of 0.7%.
The online marketplace may no longer be the shiny new thing that hogs headlines. But, while bowing its head down, Zalora has launched a subscription service for die-hard shoppers, as well as fulfillment, logistics, and marketing services for international brands wanting to break into Southeast Asia.
It’s worth remembering that not all of Rocket Internet’s ecommerce ventures have succeeded. The venture builder launched furniture site Home24.sg in Singapore in May 2012 – the same year as Zalora’s birth – only to shut the platform down three months later.
But Zalora’s win – amid many other ecommerce platforms struggling to achieve the same – surely deserves some cheer.
— Melissa Goh, journalist at Tech in Asia
Top stories this week
Image credit: Timmy Loen
1️. Now profitable, Zalora bets on B2B, subscriptions for growth
Zalora may not be as popular as Lazada, Shopee, or TikTok Shop in Southeast Asia, but the ecommerce marketplace was profitable in 2022.
2. Indonesia’s early EV pioneers are making ground but vulnerable to disruptors
Electric vehicle companies are raising big bucks to ramp up manufacturing and infrastructure. But what happens if a Shopee-like newcomer appears?
Join Tech in Asia’s 11th and final meetup of 2023!
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
