Lazada worked with many of its existing partners, including P&G, Unilever, L’Oreal and Samsung leading up to the event. But the company also sees the event as an opportunity for newcomers, too.
For one, MLAB Holdings, which distributes Sweden-designed Happy Socks into Southeast Asia, ordered 20 to 30 percent more stock in anticipation of Singles Day, according to Mack Chua the company’s managing director. Chua, who ran a “buy one, get one free” promotion during the event, said he had only been selling on Lazada for several months.
Following the event, he told CNBC that he sold fives times the amount of socks than the previous Saturday — but the overall sales actually came in less than what he’d expected. “Sales were okay, but we will consolidate our products for Cyber Monday and Black Friday,” he said.
Singles Day wasn’t only limited to Lazada’s ecosystem — other e-commerce ventures seized the opportunity.
One such business was Covetella, a dress rental start-up based in Singapore, which ran an email campaign proclaiming “Happy Singles Day!”
“We knew people would be on the lookout for deals,” said Carol Chen, founder and CEO of Covetella. “Our business is heavily event-oriented so we also wanted to give women an excuse to dress up and treat themselves just because.”
Chen said the click-through rate on the company’s email promotion was higher than normal.
“Part of our mission behind Covetella is to help people celebrate life, so I like the idea of Singles Day as a another occasion and excuse to dress up and enjoy yourself,” she added.
