Lazada plans to enter the European market

Lazada is preparing to enter the European market, but Lazada CEO Dong Zheng said that its specific plans will depend on economic development and market conditions. He did not disclose the time of its planned entry into the European market or specify which countries.

Dong Zheng, formerly business assistant to Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang, took over Alibaba's Southeast Asia division in June after leading Lazada's operations in Thailand and Vietnam.

This week, Alibaba revealed it had invested $912.5 million in its Southeast Asian subsidiaries, bringing capital inflows to $1.3 billion this year.

Dong Zheng said Europe is a very large market and for most European brands, Alibaba Group is their largest retail partner, with sales in China and other markets. He added, “We go where brands want us to go.”

It is understood that Lazada operates in six countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, and is comparable to AliExpress, a cross-border e-commerce platform that is popular in emerging markets such as Brazil.

At the same time, Lazada has been investing in companies such as Indonesian e-wallet provider Dana, and has also taken the lead in a financing of approximately US$168 million in TNG Digital Sdn, the parent company of Malaysia's largest e-wallet company Touch'n Go.

The report said Lazada will continue its pace of investment, planning to add hundreds of employees in Indonesia in the coming months and expand its office space in Jakarta. Lazada currently has 150 million users, and Alibaba hopes to double the number of users by 2030.