Zilingo trims staff, refocuses on Asia

Online fashion platform Zilingo has axed about 45 staff, including 30 in its Singapore head office, as it refocuses on Asia in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The layoffs represent about 5 percent of the company’s global workforce of 900.

“Zilingo has had to make several tough decisions in line with this approach and last week we announced internally company-wide restructuring measures that reflect this strategic direction,” a spokesperson for the company told DealStreetAsia.

A year ago, Zilingo raised US$226 million in Series D funding saying at the time it wanted to invest in long-term value building across the supply chain, building new and deeper relationships with manufacturing partners in Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and China, and expanding into new markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and the US.

Another $100 million was raised last September to fund growth in Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

However, with fewer people buying fashion during the Covid-19 pandemic, the five-year-old company has decided to rein in its global reach, to concentrate on Asia and developing markets, shelving operations in the US and Europe.

“As we continue with the internal reorganization and move forward, we seek the support and cooperation of our merchant partners, sellers and the Zilingo family at large in our combined efforts,” the spokesperson said.

Zilingo has previously revealed its platform links 60,000 retail partners and 6000 factories spanning 17 countries.