Unilever and Lazada strike e-commerce partnership

Unilever and Lazada Group have signed an agreement to build an “end-to-end alliance” in the e-commerce industry. This is to generate rapid growth for both businesses in the Southeast Asia region by 2020. It will also build on the recently launched Unilever store on Lazada Singapore.According to a press statement on the new deal, the two companies will work closely on category development,  data and marketing, social commerce, supply chain and fulfilment and talent development.Both companies have agreed to allocate resources behind this alliance and aim to offer consumers a wide choice of products, educational content and lower shipping options. They also aim to deliver a superior customer experience, as well as drive new growth in online sales and consumer insights.“Ecommerce is the fastest growing channel in Southeast Asia making it vital for us to find innovative ways to address the needs of our consumers, allowing them to shop when and where they want. We believe this pioneering partnership will set new standards in customer experience, supply chain and digital marketing, helping our brands reach more consumers across Southeast Asia,” Pier Luigi Sigismondi (pictured right), president, Unilever - Southeast Asia and Australasia, said.“This partnership is a game changer for Lazada as it endorses our one-stop platform strategy to support the online development of top brands like Unilever. Having the commitment of Unilever will also greatly benefit the ecosystem of partners that support our platform,” Maximilian Bittner (pictured left), CEO of Lazada Group, said.Meanwhile, Alibaba also recently partnered Lazada Singapore to bring Taobao, an online marketplace and shopping site similar to eBay, Rakuten and Amazon, to Singapore. The partnership links Lazada directly to Taobao, which Alibaba says, is its largest shopping platform. Before the collaboration, Taobao shoppers in Singapore had to rely on agents such as ezbuy to shop on the website, which is also written in primarily Chinese. Now, a dedicated online store will be created that links directly to Taobao and will be called taobao.lazada.sg.