Indonesia: Blibli plans to raise $75M to strengthen distribution chain

Photo by Blibli.com

By Antonia Timmerman

April 27, 2016

Online retailer Blibli.com is looking for another round of funding this year and plans to raise a minimum of $75.7 million (Rp1 trillion) to bolster its distribution chain. The move is part of the firm’s defensive strategy to strengthen its position in Indonesia – southeast Asia’s largest market – after China’s Alibaba aquired a controlling stake in Lazada Group earlier this month, marking heightened competiton in the region.

Also Read: Alibaba-Lazada deal to turn SE Asia into e-commerce battleground

Blibli CEO Kusumo Martanto said there has been a commitment from existing shareholders to inject the funds, which will be used to build six warehouses and 200 fulfillment centers outside Jakarta. The additional warehouses and centers will be approximately 200,000 square meters, and will be spread across Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Makassar, Semarang, and Banjarmasin or Balikpapan.

“Strengthening the logistics and distribution system is very important to us. I think whoever can overcome the obstacles in this sector will definitely be the market leader,” Martanto told DEALSTREETASIA on Wednesday.

Martanto said that the project will be stretched over the span of several years. This year alone the company is hoping to build three warehouses and a couple of tens of fulfillment centers to reduce costs.

He did not specify if there were any new investors interested to take part in the fund raising. But he said the company is always open for talks, welcoming both local and foreign investors.

In 2016, Blibli is targeting 10,000 transactions or a five-fold increase from last year. To reach this target, Blibli has implemented several business strategies, such as establishing a partnership with major credit card issuers, and offering free delivery service to its customers.

Blibli was founded four years ago by PT Global Digital Niaga (GDN), an unit of Djarum Group, and sells products ranging from baby diapers, mobile phones, fashion items, to motorcycles and cars. The company recently partnered with several automotive distributors to sell Toyota and BMW cars and Honda, Piaggio, and Yamaha motorcycles.

It offers more than 350,000 products from more than 6,000 brands, out of which 1,000 are local producers. About 40 per cent of customer transactions are made through the use of credit cards.

Also Read:

Indonesia: Easypay to transfer shareholding; Blibli expects five fold increase in online transaction

Indonesia: Go-Jek, Djarum, Mensa invest undisclosed amount in HaloDoc

US e-commerce giant eBay plans to open office in Indonesia

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
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Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW