E-commerce in Southeast Asia has grown rapidly during the pandemic, and this momentum continues. a McKinsey report It found that between now and 2026, the market is expected to triple at a compound growth rate of 22%, reaching $230 billion in gross merchandise volume. It is no surprise that global brands are keen to enter Southeast Asia. E-commerce enabling platform etaily It helps them build, manage and scale their e-commerce operations.
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in the Philippines, Eataly announced today that it has raised $17.8 million in Series A funding. The round was led by SKS Capital, a Chinese and Taiwanese private equity firm, and Singaporean Pavilion Capital. Also participating were SBI ICCP, a joint venture between ICCP Venture Partners of the Philippines, Japan’s SBI Holdings (formerly SoftBank Investments) and Kaya Founders, along with the Magsaysay family, Chan family, Foxmont Capital and JGDEV, the institutional investment arm of JG Summit Holdings. .
Etaily’s ecosystem includes comprehensive global e-commerce and multi-channel branding solutions, along with its own portfolio of brands. The startup has about 50 global clients, including Levi’s, Crocs, Reckitt and Skechers who use it to develop lifestyle products, manage selling on platforms like Lazada, Shopee and brand.com, and fulfill orders through etaily’s asset-light warehouse network. It has processed more than 10 million orders so far, and expects its total sales to reach $40 million this year, with a goal of reaching $100 million by 2025.
Before founding etaily, CEO Alexander Freedhoff had a long career in retail, starting with German shirt brand van Laack. There, his roles included manufacturing and product development in Vietnam, and business development and e-commerce implementation in countries such as Australia and Germany. After Van Laack, Freedhoff went to work at Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Zalora, where he built the Fulfillment by Zalora software.
Friedhoff decided to launch his products exclusively in the Philippines because “Southeast Asia belongs to the fastest growing consumer markets in the world. In fact, the Philippines is the fastest growing e-commerce market globally.
Etaily primarily works with brands in six sectors: fashion, consumer electronics, lifestyle, beauty, home & living, and fast-moving consumer goods. They sell on their own websites or on e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Shopee and Zalora.
Brands are presented with a detailed value proposition around their managed services and technologies. Managed services help brands grow by using etaily’s economies of scale, since adding an additional brand doesn’t add much overhead. It also helps brands on the demand side with customer data, Etaily’s market knowledge, conversion optimization, demand forecasting and logistics.
Etaily generates income by participating in sales generated through its platform. It also has a subscription model, where customers pay a recurring fee to access services like etaily’s subscription-based program, and they generate more money by advertising the product portfolio brands display on their platforms and content.
In terms of competition, Freedhoff mentioned three companies: Japan’s Anymind, Intrepid Ascential, and OnPoint Vietnam. Etaily also competes with regional e-commerce enablers. Freedhoff said Etaily’s competitive advantage is how its operating platform is designed and the ability to capture more of the value chain. Its omni-channel capabilities enable offline POS integration into the supply chain, meaning that global consumer brands that want to enter the Philippines only need a partner, rather than also finding a partner for brick and mortar sales.
Another advantage is the amount of data that is generated electronically by scaling different e-commerce brands. This gives them lots of data points on consumer behaviour, channel, demand and traffic, which helps brands as they launch.
Etaily’s vertically integrated services include selling its own brands and third-party luxury brands in more than 200 storefronts operating on e-commerce platforms and standalone websites. Most of them are powered by Clarity, Etaily’s end-to-end e-commerce technology and operating ecosystem, which includes fully integrated commerce and marketing modules, real-time business intelligence data, payments, courier, fulfillment, and customer service. The company also offers product development services based on consumer and market data, digital brand building and content creation through Etaily Studios.
Etaily will use its Series A to expand into Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, working on its own brand distribution platform and expanding its portfolio of brands (including its in-house brands). It also plans to invest in its own technology, including its operating system, data analytics and visibility.
In a statement, Jack Chen, founder of SKS Capital, said: “Etaily’s asset-light strategy, coupled with its extensive e-commerce and supply chain knowledge and use of data-driven insights to understand consumer behavior and demand, offers great prospects for integrating advanced omnichannel technology solutions into the brand’s operations. This will enable significant growth in the future.”