Deal focus: VCs back Ezbuy’s cross-border e-commerce

Digitization has a funny way of blurring lines in the business world, whether through multifaceted operational models or the imperative to be international even at the early stages of development. Cross-border e-commerce players in Southeast Asia like Alibaba Group-owned, Singapore-based, and regionally omnipresent Lazada probably crystallize the trend better than most.

Closer to the start-up end of the spectrum, online marketplaces such as Shanghai and Singapore-based Ezbuy are making this profile work to their advantage as well. The company recently logged $17.6 million in pre-Series C funding with a view to leveraging Chinese knowhow in exporting goods, talent, capital and ideas to Southeast Asia. The round features Sky9 Capital, IDG Ventures, Vision Knight Capital, CGC Capital, and Ventech.  

“Singapore is a hub for Southeast Asia, but for us, this is a China-centric deal because it leverages a lot of things that we know about China’s ecommerce market as well as supply chain management,” says Ron Cao, founder and managing director at Sky9. “In some ways, we’re re-living history from 15 years ago in China, growing e-commerce from 1% of the market to 15%. The question is how long that will take, and we’re betting it will go faster this time because of greater mobile penetration, the maturity of digital payments, and more advanced user habits.”

Founded in 2009 as 65daigou, Ezbuy brands itself as Singapore’s first global shopping platform with operations modeled on sector leaders such as Amazon and a customer base spanning Southeast Asia. Its latest capital raise aims to firm up the regional footprint and facilitate a push into more global markets. Notably, an Australian business has already been established. 

International savvy is a big part of the value proposition. Key differentiators include a curated product range that zeros in on the specific shopping demands of targeted geographies, as well as a higher level of local-language customer support than many early-stage companies are likely to provide. This strategy is said to result in a logistical edge versus even some of the company’s largest competitors. 

“You can buy something from China and have it delivered to your home in Singapore in three to four days,” explains Cao. “You won’t get that kind of service and dynamic from other marketplaces like Taobao.”

The tradeoff of a more carefully localized approach is a slower pace of growth. Ezbuy may well record less traffic and sales than many of its peers, but it claims a stronger profit profile and better long-term stickiness with users. In the fickle world of online business trends, that could count for a lot.

“It’s not a go-for-broke business. We want to continue growing with very sound and fundamental execution,” says Cao. “The benchmark for success in e-commerce is higher than ever because a valuation of $1 billion used to be considered a great outcome, but now it’s more like $10 billion. Building up to that level is all about survival, so if you can be there for the long run, you’re in good shape.”  

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Consumer
• Singapore
• China
• Vision Knight Capital
• Sky9 Capital
• IDG Capital Partners
• e-commerce
• TMT
• Logistics