Salim Group has recently acquired Elevenia, another Indonesia-based e-commerce site which was the result of a joint venture between SK Planet and XL Axiata
Indonesian retail giant Salim Group and South Korean retail giant Lotte Group today launched e-commerce platform iLOTTE.
Built in form of an online mall, iLOTTE is launched as a mobile and desktop platform for leading local and global retail brands, instead of personal sellers or small businesses like in many online marketplaces. Examples of global brands that are already available on the platform are Clarins, Shiseido, Audi, Volkswagen, JBL, Canon, Nike, and LEGO.
Some of its special features including flash delivery (that is able to deliver goods under three hours, or allow users to schedule delivery time), and a special category for South Korean products, from food to cosmetics to K-pop merchandises.
Salim Group and LOTTE Group invested US$100 million to kickstart the platform, and the e-commerce company already operates its own warehouse in North Jakarta.
Salim Group has recently made headlines with its acquisition of e-commerce site Elevenia, which was the result of a joint venture of SK Planet and XL Axiata.
iLotte VP Steven Calvin Victory said that the Elevenia acquisition and the iLotte launch are part of Salim Group’s strategy in embracing e-commerce.
“Salim Group hs the vision to contribute in building digital ecosystem in Indonesia. When we acquired Elevenia yesterday, it is also part of the plan,” he explained.
“As for the possibility of a consolidation, I am now unable to comment on the matter, as each player has their own uniqueness,” he added.
The group’s recent move in the digital industry includes its partnership with NUS Enterprise to launch coworking space BLOCK71 Jakarta.
Other Indonesian conglomerate groups that have been dabbling with e-commerce is Lippo Group. Its e-commerce platform MatahariMall was recently reported by Dealstreet Asia to have raised US$16 million from its sister company Matahari Department Store.
MAP Group has also launched its online mall in February 2016.
The Indonesian e-commerce scene has been perceived as having reached its consolidation stage, with several companies laying off employees in late 2016.
But recently e-commerce startups have begun to raise a considerable amount of late-stage funding, starting from Sale Stock’s US$27 million Series B+ funding round in August.
Indonesian unicorn Tokopedia also raised US$1.1 billion led by Chinese internet giant Alibaba.
New investment has also been made in sectors that support e-commerce operations, such as logistics, with Deliveree raising US$14.5 million in Series A on Monday.
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