Who doesn't know the online shopping platform Shopee? In Indonesia, almost everyone is familiar with this application. However, do you know who is behind Shopee's success as one of the largest marketplaces in Southeast Asia?
Shopee was founded by two important figures, namely Chris Feng and Forrest Li, with Chris Feng now serving as the company's CEO. Shopee itself carries a B2C (business-to-customer) business model in its e-commerce operations.
Chris Feng's Profile
Chris Feng | medcom.id
One of the key figures behind the development of Shopee is Chris Zhimin Feng, better known as Chris Feng. The man born on December 4, 1982, is from Singapore. He studied at the National University of Singapore majoring in Computer Science.
Chris Feng is known to have received a scholarship from the Singaporean government and successfully graduated as the best student at the National University of Singapore. After that, he continued his studies at Stanford University, United States, focusing on Management Science and Engineering.
Chris Feng had worked for quite a long time at the management consulting firm McKinsey located in Frankfurt, Germany. For seven years, he built his career there before finally joining Rocket Internet. In the company, Chris Feng was trusted to serve as Zalora's Regional Managing Director for the Southeast Asian region.
Chris Feng also served as Chief Purchasing Officer at Lazada Southeast Asia for almost three years. After that, he joined Garena — a company under Forrest Li’s SEA Ltd — and served as Head of Mobile Business.
After a year as Garena's Head of Mobile Business, Chris Feng and Forrest Li decided to establish a marketplace called Shopee in 2015. Chris Feng was then trusted as the CEO of Shopee. This marketplace was first launched in Singapore and is under the auspices of SEA Ltd, formerly known as Garena.
What is Shopee?
Shopee is a marketplace application or e-commerce platform that makes it easy for users to shop and sell products or services anywhere. Through Shopee, sellers can easily market their goods, while buyers can make transactions practically. The live chat feature also allows buyers and sellers to interact directly in the transaction process.
Shopee also offers a wide range of products, from fashion, snacks, electronics, gadgets, to automotive. This platform has been equipped with logistics and payment support that facilitates and ensures transaction security for sellers and buyers.
Compared to other marketplace platforms such as Tokopedia, Bukalapak, and OLX, Shopee is one of the youngest players with limited experience. However, through aggressive promotions, Shopee has managed to compete and be on par with competitors who have been operating for longer.
Shopee's Business Model
Illustration of the business-to-customer concept | Call Centre Helper/Jonty Pearce
Initially, Shopee carried the C2C (customer-to-customer) concept, but then shifted to a hybrid C2C and B2C (business-to-customer) model. This change occurred after the launch of Shopee Mall, which allows the distribution of products from various well-known brands through the Shopee online store platform.
Although both are online stores, Shopee has differences with Tokopedia or Bukalapak, because Shopee not only provides a platform for merchants, but also sells their own products. Therefore, some products available on Shopee come from abroad, such as China.
That is the explanation of the journey of an online store business that eventually became the largest marketplace in Southeast Asia. From the beginning until now, Shopee have succeeded in developing into a very influential platform in the region.
Sources:
Gramedia. Pendiri Shopee dan Kisah Perjalanan Karirnya. https://www.gramedia.com/literasi/pendiri-shopee/
