Great Deals Wants To Become Alibaba of the Philippines, Raises US$12m

Great Deals E-Commerce Corp, an e-commerce enabler based in the Philippines, has raised US$12 million in funding from private equity firm Navegar to fuel its aim of becoming an Alibaba or Baozun in the country.

Alibaba and Baozuon are China’s top e-commerce enablers and Great Deals founder and CEO Steve Sy is an Alibaba eFounders fellow.

Founded in 2014, Great Deals provides end-to-end e-commerce services, handling everything from digital content, web design, analytics, and chat support to warehousing and fulfillment.

Its clients include multinational companies such as Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle, Samsonite, Reebok, Crocs, L’Oreal, Abott, and Unilever.

Great Deals said it will use the fresh capital to further enhance the company’s IT, infrastructure, warehouse capabilities, and technology solutions, as it aggressively expands its presence in the country.

“Our grand objective is to emerge as the Philippines’ very own Alibaba and Baozun, China’s leading e-commerce enabler,” the company said in a statement.

The investment comes as e-commerce penetration in the Philippines remains low at less than 2 percent of gross domestic product, compared to 40 percent in China and 25 percent in the US, according to data from Forbes.

“E-commerce is a sunrise industry in the Philippines, and there are so many opportunities looming on the horizon. Our mission, in Great Deals, is to uplift Filipino lives through the digital economy, harnessing local technology, human resources, and boundless creativity to bring the best we can offer to the Philippines,” Sy shared.

The company made headlines in 2018 when it dispatched a record 114,165 orders in one day. That figure was surpassed in 2019 when Great Deals facilitated 233,038 orders.

The investor, Navegar, is a Manila-based private equity fund that invests exclusively in companies with exposure to the Philippines. It was founded in 2012 by its Managing Partners Nori Poblador and Javier Infante.

Navegar manages two pools of money, Navegar Fund I and Navegar Fund II, with total assets under management of close to US$ 300 million.