Aulia E. Marinto and the Blanja team
Blanja.com, an Indonesian e-commerce platform co-owned by US behemoth eBay and state-owned telco firm Telkom, has ceased operation per September 1, its official statement read.
Blanja.com was founded in September 2012 as a C2C marketplace. According to the article released by Tech In Asia, it was known for its gadgets offering that’s bundled with an internet data package from Telkomsel, Telkom’s wireless network unit. In its development, Blanja also offered items such as beauty products as well as food and beverage.
In 2016, both Telkom and eBay reportedly injected US$25 million into Blanja.com.
Blanja.com had had a hard time competing with unicorns such as Tokopedia and Bukalapak, as well as Shopee, in terms of customer acquisitions and retainments.
According to iPrice data, by Q1 2020, Blanja.com fell to 27th place, with just over 400,000 monthly web visits.
Also Read: How aCommerce, Blanja, and Pinjam maintain employee retention
In 2018, Aulia Marinto who was the company’s CEO, resigned from Blanja.com to return to Telkom Group.
So far, the company only left steps on its site for its customers to withdraw their e-commerce balance from Blanja.com’s e-wallet before the end of September.
This is the latest notable shutdown that has happened in the Indonesian e-commerce scene since the start of COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Previously, fashion e-commerce site Sorabel also announced its shutdown in July.
In our special report, Sorabel CEO Jeffrey Yuwono revealed that the company’s cash reserves were already depleted as the pandemic hit, even though it has managed to secure several investment offers. The pandemic had made the situation worsen as foreign investors were unable to travel to Indonesia to follow-up the deals.
In Indonesia, even unicorns such as Traveloka are struggling during the pandemic, despite their ability to continue on closing new funding rounds.
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Image Credit: Blanja.com
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