The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Asian e-commerce giant Shopee launched its online platform in Chile and Colombia this week, according to a Reuters report. It has also enabled country-specific social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
The platform, which belongs to Southeast Asian technology giant Sea Group, made its first foray into Latin America via Brazil in 2019, and then expanded to Mexico in February this year.
Shopee is aiming to expand its presence in Latin America and compete with local giants like Mercado Libre and foreign players like Amazon. Since launching in Brazil, Shopee has grown to having a local team of more than 250 people. It’s now also working with local vendors to boost their online presence, but has a long way to go before it presents as a serious competitor to the currently dominant e-commerce incumbents of the region.
Shopee was founded in Singapore in 2015 and then expanded to much of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Imran Amed shares his observations from a trip to the wealthy desert metropolis, home to the most lucrative stores for many of the world’s top fashion brands.
Spurred by rapid growth in the pure luxury market, global brands operating in lower-priced segments like contemporary fashion are entering the country or accelerating expansion plans.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features India’s textile industry, Chinese beauty major Yatsen and Ghana’s newest garment factory.
Luxury fashion retailers in the oil-rich African nation keep a low profile to provide a discreet shopping environment for consumers and avoid flaunting the elite nature of their own business.