Carousell Introduces Chai Jia Jih as VP of International

Singapore-based C2C mobile marketplace service Carousell introduces Chai Jia Jih as VP of International. Jia Jih is responsible for expanding the Carousell market internationally, including in Indonesia which is a very potential market for this segment mobile commerce. Jia Jih himself believed that strategy viralmarketing is the most appropriate way to acquire more customers in Indonesia.

Jia Jih chose Indonesia as the first country he visited after two weeks as VP Carousell. Jia Jih previously brought with him more than 12 years of experience in technology, including being Managing Director Southeast Asia and Head of APAC Host Operations Airbnb for the past 3,5 years.

When asked about the reasons for choosing Carousel and leaving Airbnb, Jia Jih told the media that "challenge" was the key word. According to him, it is very challenging to help an Asian startup go global.

Carousell itself is rumored to be getting big funding for expand in Asia, although Carousell's side had not confirmed it until now, and Jia Jih was the executive chosen to lead this venture. In total, based on two funding rounds, Carousell has raised close to $7 million (close to 90 billion IDR).

Regarding the Indonesian market for Carousell, although he did not want to provide detailed statistics, Jia Jih said they experienced 10 times growth compared to last year. Although they don't have a specific target for Carousell's development in Indonesia, Jia Jih ensures that they will focus on helping to solve problems, in terms of buying and selling products and will not focus too much on competition in the C2C segment. Carousell itself globally has more than 26 million products listed on its website.

[See also:Carousell Holds Curated Garage Sale As a C2C Strategy]

In Indonesia, there are a number of marketplace services targeting C2C, while the mobile marketplace market is starting to heat up with the entry of Carousell, Shopee, Lyke, and Sale Stock. Like competitors, the types of goods that are mostly traded on Carousell are fashion products, furniture, and baby products. Jia Jih confirmed that the market segment, although varied, is mostly women in the 18-35 age range.

Regarding its operations in Indonesia, Carousell itself has recruited 3 local people with the function of being Community Managers. He did not rule out the opportunity to recruit more employees, including a Country Manager, depending on how his business develops in Indonesia. For this, he ensures that the recruitment of local people is prioritized because they understand more about the Indonesian market than foreigners.

Jia Jih believes that Carousell can last a long time if users really like using its service and spread this information to friends around them. That's why Carousell tries to focus on community-raising and campus ambassadors as an effort to support viralmarketing. This approach is not much different from the strategy adopted by the Carousell Co-Founders at this time start developing market in Indonesia.