The business was founded in 2014, as an online directory for discovering local F&B businesses. Lozi has made a significant impact on the daily lives of Vietnamese people and has successfully paved the way for online C2C service in Vietnam. What is the secret that lies behind their exceptional achievement? Asia Blockchain Review recently spoke to Trung Hoang Nguyen, CEO of one-of-the-biggest C2C Ecommerce Platform in Vietnam Lozi.

Asia Blockchain Review (ABR): It was recently reported that Lozi recently secured an eight-digit funding figure from Smilegate Investment. Do tell us about this momentous achievement.

Lozi: As you may already know, our Series B funding round closed in 2019 with a fresh injection of funds from South Korea’s Smilegate Investment. However, the journey doesn’t end there as we’re always on the road of fund-raising, we’re currently working on our next Series C funding round.

ABR: Please tell us about the journey that Lozi has gone through, from originally being an app for people to find food, beverages, and coffee shops, which were mainly targeted to Gen Z and millennials; as it is now a social C2C e-commerce and one-hour delivery platform.

Lozi: We founded Lozi originally from the idea “something like Yelp should exist in Vietnam”. After 12 months, Lozi attracted about 200,000 users with the website traffic reaching over 2 million. The food review site had transformed into a hyperlocal e-commerce platform, facilitating the buying and selling activities of various product categories ranging from food, fashion to vehicles, electronics, and more.

ABR: Since 2018, Lozi has been offering one-hour delivery services for multiple areas such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Can Tho. From hyperlocal C2C, food delivery, grocery delivery, and on-demand laundry services. Please tell us how the company manages the complexities of these services?

Lozi: What we find that excites us is to say No more often than to say Yes. That means we don’t feel any complexity or cumbrousness here. We practically know every difference from each service, and we try to innovate step by step based on customer feedback.

ABR: It has been reported that the company’s hybrid business model combines e-commerce with on-demand delivery and its own logistics services, eliminating the need for warehouses. It sounds amazing, just how does the company achieve such flexibility and performance?

Lozi: We have spent years ramping up our efficient and sophisticated logistics network. We put great emphasis on recruiting as many drivers as possible and bringing every local brick-and-mortar retailer online. We still have in place the warehouse exclusively for the storage of our B2B ingredients supply services, and we’re on the lookout for expanding the warehouse footprint. 

ABR: Regional giants such as Grab and Gojek are going to be stiff competition in the marketplace, how does the company intend to disrupt and differentiate itself from the rest?

Lozi: Even though the marketplace is tough and competitive, we don’t think we’re playing in the same space. The level of customer obsession and experience we are striving to achieve hasn’t existed anywhere else. This is our reason and differentiation to survive and thrive.

ABR: Finally, could you give us some insights into what is happening in the marketplace right now? Perhaps some trends, and future outlooks on the current state of affairs?

Lozi: Speaking of the Vietnamese e-commerce sector, it’s undoubtedly flourishing and has full potential for exponential growth. On the other hand, cashless payments are expected to become another booming trend.

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