Supermarket Tesco has taken a minority stake in fast-growing Asian web site Lazada, the site founded by German ecommerce powerhouse Rocket Internet only last year.
The retailer has invested 'tens of millions' of pounds in the site, Tesco’s multichannel director Robin Terrell told Bloomberg. The site sells non-food categories such as electrical products, toys, clothes and books across the southeast Asian region.
It was founded last year by Rocket Internet, owned by Oliver, Marc and Alexander Samwer, and operates across Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
According to a statement from Rocket Internet the latest $250 million (£152 million) funding round includes existing investors Investment AB Kinnevik and Verlinvest. Lazada says it is southeast Asia’s largest online shopping mall.
Meanwhile, it was revealed last week that Tesco’s home-grown equivalent Tesco Direct is still losing money in the UK and, according to previous reports, appears to have done for years.
Terrell told Bloomberg: 'There are a number of things we can do from a customer and product perspective, whether its sourcing or supply chain,' suggesting there could be a potential to partner with Lazada as well as learn from its strategy and systems.
He added that he didn't think there would be a risk of cannibalising sales through the investment because online markets in southeast Asia are still in their infancy.
Tesco is looking for ways to reverse a sales decline that is at least in part because of competition from online retailers undermining its non-food business as well as from the massive growth of discount food rivals like Aldi and Lidl.
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