CEO, Lazada
ส่องกลยุทธ์ เจมส์ ตง เส้นทางของ Lazada อนาคตอีคอมเมิร์ซไทย
ตลาดช็อปปิ้งออนไลน์ ไม่มีใครไม่คิดถึง Lazada อีคอมเมิร์ซยักษ์ใหญ่ในเครือ Alibaba Group จากประเทศจีน ที่วันนี้มี เจมส์ ตง ซีอีโอคนล่าสุดกุมบังเหียนมาแล้ว 1 ปี
แม้ธุรกิจอีคอมเมิร์ซจะไปได้สวยในสายตาคนทั่วไป แต่ในมุมมองของเขา Lazada และ Alibaba มองตลาดอีคอมเมิร์ซไทยอย่างไร หาคำตอบกันได้ใน THE STANDARD BizKlass ตอนล่าสุดนี้
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About James Dong
James Dong, CEO of Lazada, has discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on e-commerce, describing it as a "very, very tough time" for the company. He noted challenges such as surging order volumes, the need to develop touch-free delivery, and protecting employees from infection. Dong stated that the pandemic accelerated partnerships with offline retailers, citing a collaboration with Masan Group in Vietnam where grocery stores delivered to consumers. He said Lazada views offline players as partners and predicted that "the borderline between online and offline will continue to blur." Dong has also emphasized the growth potential of e-commerce in Southeast Asia. In Thailand, he said the online commerce penetration rate was around 2-3% and forecast that the market could grow tenfold in the following years. He highlighted the importance of social commerce and live streaming in categories like beauty and fashion. In a 2018 panel, Dong discussed the potential for small businesses to scale through e-commerce, giving examples of local producers who expanded their sales after being listed online. He also participated in the launch of a Danish pavilion on Lazada in Vietnam in 2020, signing an MOU with the Danish embassy.
Transcript (17 segments)
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James Dong0:10
To me it's actually very vague. They said we want to build Thailand into a showcase for the rest of the world in terms of digitalization. Actually, a lot of people might not know that Thailand is the largest overseas country operation for Alibaba Group. It's not only Lazada, which is the largest overseas local operation of e-commerce. We also have other Chinese business units. For example, we have Fliggy, our online travel business. In China, every year there are 11 million Chinese visits to Thailand. Most of them use the Fliggy app to book flights, hotels, local services, get coupons, and also Alipay as well. Alipay is the largest payment platform.
We build a very solid platform by having the technology, and we launched a lot more and we keep improving a lot of fundamentals in the business. In the past, everybody came to Lazada to shop. Now we want people to come to Lazada not only to shop but also to watch and play. Nowadays, I think beauty and fashion is the fastest-growing category for us. Last year, if I remember correctly, fashion grew about 200%. People come to our app and go to live streaming. They see a lot of KOLs, vloggers, celebrity brand ambassadors. They put on skincare and makeup, and for fashion, from skirts to t-shirts, shoes, and bags.
Secondly, historically we are always very strong in electronics. We have a lot of exclusive partnerships with different brands. For example, Apple has its only online shop on us. They don't set up an Apple Store or sell on any other platform, only us. It's that trust and experience. For example, we guarantee 100% genuine products from the brand directly, and it's very fast delivery. How fast? During the iPhone XR launch, the earliest and fastest delivery was to customers who received it even before it was available in stores.
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Interviewer3:12
What is your strength, your competitive advantage for Lazada in Thailand?
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James Dong3:20
I think if you compare this market to the US and China, where the internet is very advanced, consumers are as well-educated internet users as in other countries. In the US and China, social app penetration is roughly 70%. In Thailand, this number is even higher. Think about the population, your friends, how much time they spend online on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok. There is more user base, but compared to the social user base, it's still a fraction, maybe 40% or 30%. So there's still huge room to grow. In the US and China, that gap is very small. In China, for example, Alibaba's mobile app has active users more than 50% of the entire population. So the internet is ready here, and consumers are very mobile-ready. The only last piece we need to put into this puzzle is how to convert them into online purchasers. In China and the US, e-commerce penetration is 10 to 15%. In Thailand, it's 2 to 3%. Some people say it will take 5 years to reach that level, but it could be faster. My experience tells me that internet growth is always faster than the most aggressive forecast. I don't know if it's going to be 5 years, 3 years, or 4 years. I think the e-commerce market could grow by 10 times in this country. So at this stage, this market is still very early.
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Interviewer6:12
There are other players, and some retailers have their own e-commerce. But imagine all the apps and websites that are still functioning, where consumers can order and get delivery to their home. How many players are there? 1 million? They celebrate so much. I'm talking about platforms. How many? 100? Actually, numbers?
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James Dong6:40
Too many. It's just that in the retail industry, offline or online, brands, retailers, or SMEs all see that online is the future. We all jointly make this market grow and serve our consumers, giving them a better experience. So in this market, we have quite a few players, but I have never worried about competition because it's still very early stage. I actually appreciate all these serious players throwing resources and dedication to grow this market together.
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Interviewer7:45
How do you see the difference in customer behavior of Thais compared to other regions or countries in ASEAN?
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James Dong8:11
For both Singapore and Thailand, the internet penetration is roughly about 70%. For other countries, it's much lower. Online commerce penetration in Singapore is roughly 5.5% to 6%, but we are like 2% to 3%. That means even compared to Singapore, we need to at least double in the next one or two years. And of course, the market itself is growing, Singapore and everyone is growing as well. That's why I think in the next three to four years, maybe 10 times growth. This is my personal forecast, a little more aggressive than the Google and Temasek reports that many retailers and brands take as a reference. Based on my experience in China and at Alibaba, I believe it's possible.
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Interviewer9:10
How does a brand do marketing and branding? Usually, they use offline billboards, advertise on Facebook and Instagram, and sell in department stores and their own boutiques. But all this data is disconnected. There is no single platform to consolidate and analyze it.
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James Dong9:43
We have marketing solutions that we provide to brands so that the brand and us can co-invest in getting traffic to the brand store on our platform. We also work with the brand on their social media. We can measure how effective their offline investment is, and we digitalize the consumer journey. In the past, they would never know who exactly watched an offline advertisement and how many of those consumers converted. Now we know everything. We also capture the traffic they bring from Instagram and Facebook, and from our app. Since our app is the largest traffic source, we can capture all these digital footprints and help brands and retailers retarget those consumers very accurately. This is the end-to-end digital marketing and sales solution we provide.
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Interviewer10:59
How can you ensure that brands and retailers won't be afraid when all information is digitalized?
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James Dong11:14
I get asked this a lot. There are many technical details, but in short, I'll give you one fact that will make you feel relieved. Alibaba is a US-listed company. There's a reason we chose to list in the US and not Hong Kong or other places: because the US is the most strict in terms of data privacy and IP protection. Alibaba Group's IPO was the largest IPO in history. This should give a lot of brands and retailers relief.
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Interviewer12:10
Has your talent changed since coming to Thailand?
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James Dong12:10
I would say yes. The China market is bigger, with more players, as I mentioned, 2000 e-commerce players. The workplace is generally faster in China. At the beginning when I came here, I was a little bit, I wouldn't say stressed, but I tended to keep the previous work pattern. There was a bit of culture shock or something like that? Not really. It's just that at the beginning, I felt a bit tense. But the people here, the employees, consumers, and brands, there's no culture shock, never. I would say I'm open, and more relaxed.
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Interviewer13:10
You're open and more relaxed?
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James Dong13:10
Yes, I'm open and more relaxed. In the past, I was kind of aggressive, always wanting to do more. I probably worked too much. When I came to Thailand, this is a pretty relaxed country, and people are friendly. It made me start thinking about work-life balance or work-life integration. I gradually realized that I missed some good moments in the past. So I hope I can not only drive and manage a good business here but also enjoy life.