LAZADA, Alibaba Business School and Taobao University joined hands today to present the LazStar Academy, a network of certified expert trainers in Southeast Asia to benefit the wider seller community on LAZADA. The new initiative was announced at the LAZADA e-Commerce Seller Conference 2018 on 25 September 2018 marking the kick off of LAZADA’s network of sellers’ preparation in maximising success for its upcoming annual 11.11 and 12.12 mega sale events.
LAZADA Malaysia’s Chief Executive Officer, Christophe Lejeune said, “We are committed to supporting our sellers through a variety of programmes and tools dedicated to upskilling them. LazStar Academy is a key example of our collaborative efforts with Alibaba to advance the e-Commerce knowledge and professional skills of our sellers who will impart them to others in the community.”
Available in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, LazStar brings local knowhow and insider advice from some of the most successful and experienced LAZADA sellers so that business owners can sidestep pitfalls as they accelerate the growth of their online business.
“Taobao University will bring our experience of enabling sellers to rapidly master the skills and grow on LAZADA. In the past 12 years since it was established, Taobao University has helped almost 10 million sellers from more than 130 countries and regions learn practical skills that enabled their businesses to breakthrough,” said Selina Xu, Head of International Training, Taobao University. “We will build LazStar Academy with a certified trainer program, customised courses, and best-in-class trainings to benefit LAZADA, local sellers and their businesses.”
Gearing Up for Success on 11.11 and 12.12
LazStar Academy trainings will be jointly developed by certified seller trainers, Taobao University, and LAZADA. The modules will provide valuable insights from local entrepreneurs on LAZADA and best practices from Alibaba. LazStar lectures conducted by the certified trainers will help participants gain and retain customers while maximising revenues amid the fast expanding e-Commerce landscape. These trainings will include advanced topics such as business and functional strategies. An immersion trip to Hangzhou, China is in the pipeline for sellers to witness the scale of e-Commerce in China and broaden their network.
Growing a Base of Successful Sellers
Supporting partner, Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) was filled with entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and marketing experts during the LAZADA e-Commerce Seller Conference 2018 on the 25th and 26th of September. The conference brought sellers, industry leaders, digital entrepreneurs, and beginners together to explore the latest trends and best practices in e-Commerce.
The conference saw 4,000 participants coming together to learn from LAZADA, Alibaba, and Taobao industry insiders. Current and potential sellers also had the opportunity to learn from their peers comprising of sellers who have made it big on the LAZADA platform. These sellers shared their individual insights and techniques when it came to using LAZADA’s Seller Tools to achieve high purchase rates and command store loyalty.
The two-day conference exposed participants to topics such as pricing strategies, boosting traffic to online stores, tools available to sellers, and recommended business processes among other topics. There were breakout sessions conducted by LAZADA category experts, superstar sellers, trainers from LazStar Academy, Alibaba Business School, and Taobao University. These sessions helped to prepare sellers for the LAZADA 11.11 and 12.12 campaigns, Malaysia’s biggest online sales of the year. Industry-leading experts probed opportunities in e-Commerce in a session on the future of the industry.
The annual conference eases the adoption of e-Commerce by providing access to local sellers to share best practices. Over two full days, conference attendees immersed themselves in talks and workshops that elevated their mastery of e-Commerce. Hugh Koh of Pestle & Mortar and Timothy Tiah of Colony also enlightened the crowd on their e-Commerce journeys.
Reaching Out to Sellers at the Grassroots
LAZADA is all about making digital entrepreneurship accessible, simple, and quick from anywhere in Malaysia so that #EveryoneCanSell. In addition to hosting the largest e-Commerce meetup for online entrepreneurs and budding sellers, LAZADA also runs a series of programmes to engage sellers from across the nation to share knowledge and experiences as well as discuss challenges and opportunities.
The conference complements a wider outreach by LAZADA to enable sellers to reach their full potential via dedicated training programs and educational tools. To date, this effort has seen over 5000 sellers trained through webinar and face-to-face sessions. On an even more grassroots level, LAZADA Club Malaysia was born to create an environment for sellers to support each other through a dedicated Facebook group that tailors seller engagement for each participating state and organises monthly meetups led by LAZADA seller ambassadors.
Part of the knowledge infrastructure is also the LAZADA Seller App (available on the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store) that allows entrepreneurs to conduct business on-the-go with various in-app tools. The Business Advisor tool shows useful information that informs sellers about product performance.
Attendees had the opportunity to swap stories and build connections in a happy hour networking session at the end of each day. The importance of peer companionship and moral support on the often lonely road of entrepreneurship goes a long way in creating a supportive and collaborative environment where all SMEs can flourish together and benefit from each other’s success.
“The e-Commerce Seller Conference is an initiative by LAZADA to nurture local e-Commerce in a further bid to thrust Malaysia to the forefront of the digital economy. LAZADA is about making entrepreneurship easy and accessible so that #EveryoneCanSell, no matter where they are. The conference serves as part of the ecosystem we have built to promote digital entrepreneurship,” said Lejeune.
LAZADA is Southeast Asia’s largest online shopping platform, empowering people to buy and sell through the power of e-Commerce. Consumers can enjoy an effortless shopping experience at a click and sellers can reach wider markets via the LAZADA mobile app, which is now available on the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store.
For more information on LAZADA, please visit www.LAZADA.com.my.
