Can Coupang shake up the Lazada-Shopee dynamic?

The Checkout is Tech in Asia’s free newsletter that breaks down the biggest stories and trends in ecommerce. [Read from your browser]( 🛒 The Checkout Welcome to The Checkout! Delivered every Thursday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in ecommerce. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Hello {NAME} In 2019, when Amazon was officially launched in Singapore, it was expected to substantially expand its ecommerce business in Southeast Asia. But those expectations died down after talks between the ecommerce major and Gojek fizzled out that same year. With Amazon seemingly quiet in the region, the “Amazon of South Korea” is now holding the baton. Coupang was founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, a Harvard Business School dropout. Back in March, South Korea’s biggest ecommerce star raised US$4.6 billion for its debut listing in the US. It’s a rare occasion that a non-chaebol - South Korea’s family-run conglomerates such as Samsung and Lotte - has risen to such prominence in the country. Coupang is now reportedly making inroads into Southeast Asia. Last year, it even bought the digital assets of Singtel’s Hooq, which closed down in March 2020. The ecommerce firm has been successful in South Korea due to its Rocket Delivery service - its fast delivery system for a wide range of products. Its founder has even proclaimed: “We want our customers to have it all.” But Southeast Asia’s messy and diverse landscape is not easy to conquer. Ask Alibaba, which has spent billions of dollars in the region and still hasn’t won it. That does not mean Coupang can’t stir up the Shopee-Lazada dynamic though. In this week’s premium story, we explore whether Coupang can also wow Southeast Asian consumers the same way it has done for customers in South Korea. -- Huong THE BIG STORY  [Can Coupang out-Amazon Amazon in Southeast Asia?]( SoftBank-backed Coupang is under pressure to expand to new markets after raising US$4.6 billion via its IPO. But can it crack Southeast Asia? DEEP READS  1️⃣ [In Indonesia, a golden age of VC-backed consumer brands may be imminent]( Following Kopi Kenangan’s lead, more direct-to-consumer brands have sealed deals from venture capital firms in Indonesia. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, 14 consumer brands in Indonesia raised VC money last year, doubling the tally of the previous year. This newfound interest in consumer brands also means fresh challenges for VCs, whose expertise is in evaluating and backing tech companies. Will they find the next Warby Parker or get bogged down by another Luckin Coffee? 2️⃣ [Carsome and Carro: A neck-and-neck race to transform how people buy cars]( Used cars might become the next ecommerce battleground because of the pandemic, as this Financial Times article suggests. In Southeast Asia, the intense rivalry between Carsome and Carro has come to new heights and both have had remarkable milestones recently. Carsome has become Malaysia’s first unicorn after its US$200 million iCar acquisition deal. Meanwhile, Carro in June raised US$360 million from SoftBank and is mulling a US public listing in the next two years. But how do these two differ? Read more to find out. TRENDING NEWS Check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of Asia’s ecommerce scene [here](.  1️⃣ [SoftBank-backed Lenskart hits $2.5b valuation after $220m raise]( Online eyewear marketplace Lenskart is one of India’s rising startups in the ecommerce space. It has added another US$220 million in its latest fundraising round from Temasek and Falcon Edge Capital. The Bangalore-based startup also raised over US$275 million from SoftBank in December 2019. Why it matters: The firm plans to expand to Southeast Asia and the Middle East over the next two years. It already operates [18 outlets]( in Singapore, where it’ll compete with Japanese eyewear chain Owndays. It estimates that the combined addressable market in these regions will be about US$15 billion by 2025. Prescription eyewear remains an untapped opportunity in ecommerce, as no dominant player has emerged for now. It’s a specialized space with a complicated customer journey: Buyers need to see an optician before purchasing a pair of glasses. "I bought over Owndays because I saw that there was no optical company that was the strongest in the world, so I thought there was a chance to be number one in this market," [says Shuji Tanaka, Ownday’s CEO](. 2️⃣ [Tencent-backed Chinese social commerce firm halts US listing plans]( Pioneering Chinese social commerce startup Xiaohongshu, or “Little Red Book,” has halted its US initial public offering plans after China proposed that companies with access to over 1 million users’ data will be subjected to a cybersecurity review. Xiaohongshu, which is backed by both Alibaba and Tencent, allows Chinese consumers to buy directly from overseas retailers on its platform. Why it matters: Many startups beyond China are emulating Xiaohongshu’s approach, with Indonesia’s Sociolla being a prominent example. [Check out this deep dive on the topic](. Not to be lumped in with sites that offer [community group buying]( which is also often called social commerce, Xiaohongshu’s platform combines social media and ecommerce together in a mutually reinforcing manner. Its financial numbers, released as part of its IPO, would set the benchmark for startups that want to follow in its footsteps. 3️⃣ [Indonesia’s Bukalapak raises $1.5b in country’s largest IPO]( Indonesian ecommerce firm Bukalapak has raised US$1.5 billion in its initial public offering - the largest in the country. We previously highlighted the key insights from its investor deck. You can also check out its seed funding pitch deck from 2011 to see how far the company has come. Why it matters: The IPO comes as the archipelago’s already strong ecommerce market saw a boost amid the Covid-19 pandemic’s continued spread in the country. As the first local tech giant to list, it’ll serve as a gauge of investor appetite in Indonesia. Bukalapak’s rival, GoTo, is surely watching closely. 4️⃣ [YouTube acquires Indian social commerce startup Simsim]( YouTube has acquired Simsim, an India-based social commerce startup. Last valued at around US$50.1 million, it allows creators to post video reviews on products from local businesses, which customers can watch before buying directly through the app. Why it matters: YouTube plans to turn itself into a major shopping destination, Bloomberg [reported]( and this buyout could help it get there. It was working on turning its vast video trove into a catalog of items that users can buy directly. It was also testing an integration with Shopify. While YouTube has not said how it will monetize this, one possibility is to earn referral fees for directing traffic to merchants. Getting into social commerce could also enrich its dataset on users, allowing it to do better ad targeting. Other platforms, however, appear to be ahead in this race. TikTok was set to unveil a set of [new ecommerce-related tools]( including a means for content creators to earn referral fees. Instagram has also introduced some shopping features. STARTUP WATCH 1️⃣ [India’s GlobalBees raises $150 million to build Thrasio-like house of brands]( Just three months old, GlobalBees has pulled off the largest series A funding in India. The startup looks to replicate the success of US major Thrasio in rolling up digital native brands and scaling them. 2️⃣ [Indonesian social commerce website builder hauls in $3.2m from Xiaomi backer 5Y]( Desty offers a landing page generator and an online store-building service that complements marketplaces like Tokopedia and Shopee. 3️⃣ [Vietnamese food-sourcing platform Kamereo raises $4.6m in series A round]( Based in Ho Chi Minh City, business-to-business food sourcing platform Kamereo allows food and beverage businesses to place their orders and get direct access to products from farmers. That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [hereÂ](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preference center. In the meantime, if you have any feedback or ideas, feel free to get in touch with Terence, our editor-in-chief, at terence@techinasia.com. See you next week! P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  Copyright © 2021 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554