Jan Philipp Pöter, Daraz’s head of cross border operations and speaker at eCommerce Expo Asia, explains how the eCommerce platform successfully captured new local markets in South Asia
Penetrating new markets is one of the most important but fraught endeavours any company can undertake, no matter what they sell.
Having recently spread its wings from Pakistan into Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal, South Asia’s leading eCommerce platform, Daraz, is well-positioned to advise on the challenges of scaling up.
At this year’s eCommerce Expo Asia, Jan Philipp Pöter, Daraz’s head of cross border operations, will explain how the company made a success out of its South Asian expansion by harmonising technological foundations, localising business towards specific market needs, and educating those buyers and sellers unfamiliar with eCommerce and digital payments.
Shopping in the spotlight
The region of South Asia is often in the shadow of the dynamic markets of South East Asia. Speaking to Techerati, Pöter, former business development manager at Alibaba (which acquired Daraz in May 2018) says it is important other businesses do not overlook the region’s evolving eCommerce potential.
Taken together, the two regions represent over 1 billion consumers in nations experiencing rising population growth and standards of living. But large Chinese players seeking new growth opportunities have prioritised South East Asia, due to its young population, robust infrastructure and relatively stable political systems.
Although home to a similar sized population, investors have overlooked South Asia due to its lagging economic development. Pöter, who has helped Daraz play a pioneering role in penetrating South Asian markets, expects attention to shift towards the region as eCommerce develops and matures.
Successful delivery
Having nurtured its eCommerce marketplace, Daraz expanded from a domain for buyer and seller interaction into a fully-fledged logistics company, too. Daraz Express operates a fully developed logistics network across its networks, including First Mile, sortation, warehousing, reverse logistics, linehaul and last mile deliveries.
The company also operates a comprehensive eCommerce payment environment, including closed-loop wallets, partnerships with local backs and digital wallets. Since Alibaba acquired Daraz, the number of products on its platform has soared from around 400,000 to more than 4 million and it is adding approximately 2,000 new sellers a month.