More straps and lace in Indonesian bedrooms: Lolalola hopes to win the local lingerie market

Yup, that’s right. Sex sells, even in Indonesia. This much seems to be encouraging for lingerie portal Lolalola, which is now looking to ramp up its enticing offers for Indonesian buyers. The portal, which is funded by Bangkok-based Ardent Capital, has been live in the archipelago since August. However, Lolalola now says it is commencing a larger Indonesian roll out after a design update. It also recently expanded its product line and added more payment options, according to a statement.

Lolalola wants to make it easier for Indonesian women (and presumably, men) to gain access to stylish lingerie. Indonesia is a religiously conservative market as well as a republic with the largest Muslim population, so many local buyers are simply not comfortable shopping for lingerie in public.

“Lolalola is a prime example of technology enabling female commerce,” says Felicia Moursalien, head of corporate communications at aCommerce, the marketing and logistics partner behind Lolalola. The assumption is that shopping online and having the product sent to their doorstep in inconspicuous packaging will ultimately encourage Indonesian consumers to buy more lingerie

See: AsmaraKu discreetly sells Indonesians condoms and lube

 Lolalola plans to also win the Indonesian market by offering its own branded products as well as internationally recognized brands, says Moursalien. With this positioning, Lolalola believes it has a good chance of cornering the lingerie market in Indonesia.

Funded by Ardent and supported by aCommerce, Lolalola has access to resources some of its competitors may lack. However, Lolalola is not the first to think of this concept in Indonesia, and it’s also somewhat of a late mover. While Ogahmahal is one of the more established shops specializing in racy undergarments, there are other contenders in the segment. Lingerie and unmentionables are also offered by Rocket Internet’s ecommerce giants Zalora and Lazada Indonesia, the latter of which has been operating in Indonesia since 2012. It’s also up against BerryBenka, Indonesia’s homegrown female fashion sweetheart.

Lolalola did not release any hard numbers regarding its sales performance or active registered users since its August inception in Jakarta. However, it did share some interesting market data, including the fact that the online lingerie market in Indonesia is currently around US$14 million, based on a US benchmark. 40 million women are online in Indonesia and they control around 65 percent of the household purchasing decisions, according to the Wall Street Journal.