Commenting on Lazada's layoffs coinciding with the changes at its parent company Alibaba, SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Kenneth Goh said that if Alibaba is gearing up for an IPO for its e-commerce unit, it must highlight more than just profitability. He said, “It needs to demonstrate how it’s going to win the battle against competitors like Shopee and Tokopedia, and how that will allow the company to gain a foothold in the existing markets that it operates in and enter new markets, which might explain why Alibaba is pumping money into Lazada.” According to him, it is unlikely that Lazada will spend big on customer acquisition measures, and that it might explore customer acquisition using other means that will enable it to win the market share on the consumer side, but also command a premium on the financial markets.
