Premium beauty and fashion e-commerce site launched in Indonesia

The site, known as BrandOutlet, is owned by MNC Group, a leading Indonesian investment company, and 60% of its product range is reportedly made up of domestic brands. 

It operates on a multi-channel basis across mobile and desktop sites, has a dedicated blog offering alongside the retail site, and is set to launch an app on Android and iOS in April.

BrandOutlet's launch confirms analysts' reports of the rising dominance of internet retail in the country, and positions beauty as one industry set to profit from the ongoing commerce revolution.

Indonesia's e-retail​

Market research firm Euromonitor International has just released a report on the growing power of e-commerce in Indonesia.

“The highlight of retailing in Indonesia during 2015 was internet retailing, [and] internet retailing will continue to be the prime highlight of retailing strategies over the forecast period [up to 2020],​” the report states.

Internet retailing is set to be the highest-growing channel in retailing over the next five years, according to the firm's analysts, and its performance is likely to outstrip other retailing formats.

Beating bricks and mortar​

Euromonitor's report explains that the potential internet retail has to move ahead of the physical shopping experience in Indonesia is due to the fact that the ability for brands to expand any bricks and mortar store portfolios remains limited in the country.

This is due to Indonesia's uneven economic development to date, which makes some regions much less desirable than others for a physical store presence.

“Uneven economic distribution in Indonesia has made store-based expansion limited in reaching a wider consumer base, especially in less developed areas,” ​the report explains. 

“The presence of internet retailing therefore sets a huge potential for retailers to tap all market segments across all geographical locations in Indonesia.​”