Newly Merged MoxyBilna Lands $15M For Female-Focused E-Commerce
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Moxy and Bilna, the two female-focused e-commerce sites in Southeast Asia which merged last month, now have a new name and $15 million in funding to build out their game.
The company, which has close to 400 employees, is now known as Orami, and today it announced that it has closed $15 million led by Indonesia’s SMDV, and with participation from Gobi Partners, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, Ardent Capital and Saverin’s firm Velos Partners.
The deal propels the company forward in a major way, as it battles to become the go-to destination for women shopping online in Indonesia, a country of over 250 million people, and the wider Southeast Asia region, which has a cumulative population of 620 million.
Orami CEO Jérémy Fichet and CMO Shannon Kalayanamitr told TechCrunch that their website sees around three million visits per month, with three-quarters of its customers women. They claim that, on peak days, the service does 12,000 orders and that the average basket size is 25 percent higher than the average for e-commerce in Southeast Asia.
There’s plenty of competition for online sales in Indonesia, with Rocket Internet-backed Lazada, which has raised hundreds of millions, and Matarhari Mall, a service from offline retail giant Lippo, among the larger fish. Kalayanamitr, though, believes that Orami is the only one that is focused on serving women in the country.
“Orami is focused on Indonesia and Thailand, the market where Moxy started out, and it may expand to one more market in Southeast Asia this year.”
“I don’t think we have direct competition, but [there are other players] in some verticals. We are really the only one doing it across the board,” she said, suggesting that fast-growing Matarhari could be the biggest rival to Orami.
Arguably offline commerce, or lack of awareness of online solutions among consumers, is the main competitor since online represents less than five percent of retail sales across Southeast Asia. But the rise in smartphone sales, which brings millions of people online for the first time, is changing things, and Indonesia, as Southeast Asia’s largest country, has the greatest potential in that respect.
Fichet told TechCrunch that the new money raised will be put to work building out Orami’s product selection, increasing its technology team — which currently stands at 40 employees — and improving the end-to-end experience with customers, so investing in better logistics, order management, etc. Beyond that, Kalayanamitr is working to unlock the potential of ‘social commerce’ for Orami. That’s the idea that social media is intertwined with the service — so, for example, customers can easily share new purchases, wishlists, etc with friends.
Orami is focused on Indonesia and Thailand, the market where Moxy started out, and it may expand to one more market in Southeast Asia this year. Initially though, the Oram founders said, the company needs to focus on Indonesia and build its position there.
“Just indonesia alone is going to be crazy for us, we’ve tapped a fraction of it so far,” Kalayanamitr told TechCrunch.
When Orami does look to expand, it is possible that it might look for an acquisition to hit the ground running. That’s not a huge surprise since Orami is the result of a merger, and Moxy itself acquired Thai startup WhatsNew when it first started out. Indonesia is the focus today, but Orami clearly harbors ambitions to be the e-commerce site of choice for women in Southeast Asia.
Questions & Answers
Q.Which entities led or participated in Orami's recent $15 million funding round?
Which entities led or participated in Orami's recent $15 million funding round?
Indonesia's SMDV led the funding round. Gobi Partners, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, Ardent Capital, and Saverin's firm Velos Partners also participated in the investment.
Q.What specific areas will Orami use the new $15 million funding to develop?
What specific areas will Orami use the new $15 million funding to develop?
The new funding will be used to expand Orami’s product selection and grow its technology team. It will also invest in improving logistics and order management to enhance the overall customer experience.
Q.Which countries are Orami currently focused on, and what are its future expansion plans?
Which countries are Orami currently focused on, and what are its future expansion plans?
Orami is currently focused on Indonesia and Thailand, where Moxy initially launched. The company may consider expanding into one additional market within Southeast Asia later this year.
Q.How does Orami intend to differentiate itself from competitors in the Indonesian market?
How does Orami intend to differentiate itself from competitors in the Indonesian market?
Orami believes it is the only e-commerce platform focused entirely on serving women across the board. Its CEO argues that other players only compete in specific product verticals.