Hong Kong-based delivery service provider Lalamove is strategizing its international growth after a successful Southeast Asian operation, where it honed a custom-made delivery service for local enterprises amid the e-commerce boom.
Bill Li Chi-pang, director of corporate affairs of Lalamove, expressed his confidence in the company’s overseas expansion plans following his participation in a high-level delegation to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam from July 28 to Aug 2, led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.
Established in 2013, Lalamove operates van-hailing platforms, catering primarily to SMEs’ freight demands by pairing with delivery vehicles.
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Li told China Daily in Ho Chi Minh City that the trip provided his company with invaluable insights into the socioeconomic situation of the three countries, especially Vietnam, which he said is a fast-growing segment of Lalamove in the region.
He praised the arrangement of the visit, which allowed Hong Kong entrepreneurs to engage directly with local officials, gaining “their economic plans and potential policy shifts”.
Lalamove’s Southeast Asian expansion began in Singapore in 2014. The company opened an operation to Ho Chi Minh City in 2017 and Hanoi a year later, tapping into Vietnam’s vibrant market.
Its presence in Vietnam has since ballooned, with a customer base of 2 million and cooperating with over 100,000 drivers of motorcycles, vans and freight trucks, providing intracity and intercity logistics services across the country.
The company’s “secret sauce”, according to Li, lies in its customized operation strategies for each market. For example, in Vietnam, it focuses on specific logistic needs of local SMEs with a responsive, on-demand business model.
“Their (Vietnamese) demands for logistics are quite diversified, from e-commerce to house moves, or even furniture delivery,” Li said, “and once there is a need, we are ready to help.”
The company offers a user-friendly mobile application with multilingual support, including Vietnamese, and all payments on the platform are settled in local currency.
Lalamove adapts its services to meet local holiday peaks. “People in Vietnam celebrate two women’s days, on March 8 and on Oct 20. Our local team will enhance services to cater to the additional demand brought by gift deliveries.”
These measures have endeared the company to its foreign clients. “A household supplies seller in Vietnam told us that the delivery price with Lalamove is transparent, without additional charges,” Li said.
A clothing shop owner said his delivery demand fluctuates according to selling situations, and he praised Lalamove for providing consistent service regardless of the delivery time and the volume of goods, Li added.
Expanding vision
Lalamove is riding the wave of Vietnam’s rapidly growing e-commerce business. The sector reportedly generated a gross merchandise value exceeding $13.8 billion in 2023, and a 52.9 percent year-on-year growth that topped Southeast Asian economies. Against this backdrop, the company said its business in Vietnam doubled in the first 11 months of 2022, compared with a year ago.
It is considering building a new operation base in Da Nang, the commercial hub of central Vietnam.
The Vietnamese market has become more competitive with delivery service providers like Singapore’s Grab and Ninja Van fighting for a share of the e-commerce pie.
However, Lalamove has broadened its reach regionally, expanding into six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The recent trip to Laos and Cambodia has given Li more ideas about local business policies and opportunities, offering important references for assessing the market potential of the two developing countries.
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He said that ASEAN is a vast market with tremendous potential, but its diverse cultures and customs can be barriers for foreign businesses.
Li said he believes Hong Kong businesses, with their international outlooks and cultural adaptability, are able to better fit their products and services into the needs of the bloc, and achieve greater success in ASEAN countries.
Branded as Huolala, Lalamove is operating in 363 cities across the Chinese mainland, and served over 12 million monthly active users in 2023. It has also entered markets in Mexico and Brazil in recent years.
Contact the writer at williamxu@chinadailyhk.com
