Online fashion brand Zalora to exit Philippines; Indonesia next

Southeast Asian fashion ecommerce company, Zalora, has been in the process of shutting shop in a few Asian countries. The company had retreated from Thailand and Vietnam last year, and is pulling out from Philippines and Indonesia.

Launched in 2012, the Rocket Internet backed online shopping company was functioning in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand, managed by Global Fashion Group, which was developed by Rocket Internet to handle all its online fashion businesses across the world.

In Philippines, 49% of Zalora’s parent company, BF Jade E-Services was bought by one of the oldest real-estate companies, Ayala Group, and the remaining stays with Rocket Internet. BF Jade E-Services owned and operated Zalora in Philippines and the deal is currently subjected to approval from the Philippine Competition Commission.

e27 also states that the fashion ecommerce company is in talks with retail giant MAP Group for a similar acquisition or investment in Indonesia. MAP group operates more than 1,900 retail outlets in Indonesia and has been experimenting with e-commerce as it launched its MAP e-Mall last year. A merger or acquisition with Zalora could mean that it gets access to the online fashion giant’s ecommerce expertise, as per media speculations.

Romain Voog, CEO, Global Fashion Group said in a statement, “We are proud of how Zalora Philippines contributed to the development of e-commerce and fashion in the Philippines. This partnership with Ayala will allow us to further strengthen the leadership position of Zalora Philippines, as we invest more into delivering the best online fashion shopping experience for Filipino consumers.”

In April last year Zalora sold its Thailand and Vietnam businesses to fashion retailer Central Group which also had been wanting to foray into the online ecommerce business. As reported by Forbes, the move was made to streamline its services in light of slowing output and the high cost of customer acquisition in Southeast Asia.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO, Ayala Corporation also added, “We see the potential of e-commerce in the country and believe that the Ayala group can benefit and add tremendous value to Zalora. With resources in banking, real estate and telecommunications, the investment presents new opportunities for Ayala to generate synergies throughout the e-commerce value chain.”