Zalora sees better retail environment

MANILA, Philippines - Online fashion retailer Zalora Philippines expects better prospects following its partnership with the Ayala Group.

In a briefing Wednesday, Zalora Philippines co-founder and CEO Paulo Campos said the synergy between Ayala and Zalora would significantly enhance business through a number of ways.

For instance, Campos said there could be new local and international brands Zalora can acquire by leveraging on the relationships with Ayala Land. This would enhance value proposition to merchants by providing new revenue streams with less overhead costs through e-commerce and strengthen relationship with brand partners by translating customized brand services and content online, he said in his presentation.

Campos said Zalora Philippines would also benefit from increased customer engagement around specific ALI locations.

The partnership would also be able to promote and drive usage of mobile app and mobile website among Globe subscribers and create additional revenue stream and strengthen Globe’s value proposition for customers, Campos added.

The Ayala Group has acquired a 49 percent stake in Zalora Philippines, marking its foray into the e-commerce space.

Campos said with millions of Filipinos increasingly going online and with the average Filipino spending more time online per day than any other country in the world, there has never been a more exciting time for e-commerce in this country.

“This important partnership with the Ayala Group of companies will allow us to further accelerate the growth of our business from our leading position in fashion e-commerce in the country today,” Campos said.

 In the past two years, Zalora Philippines has grown topline revenue by more than 300 percent from the 2014 level.

Zalora also reported an 890 percent  surge in the number of customers in 2016.  He said 55 percent of the customers last year were first-time Zalora purchasers and 70 percent purchased from their mobile compared to less than 50 percent in 2015.

The company offers  over 1,000 brands and 120,000 products.

 Zalora Philippines was co-founded in 2012 as part of the global network of the Zalora Group, which is 100 percent owned by the Global Fashion Group (GFG), the world’s largest online fashion platform for emerging markets.

GFG chief executive Romain Voog said the partnership with Ayala would strengthen the leadership position of Zalora Philippines.