Thirty-five million Filipinos are online. If they’re like you and me, they do a bit of their shopping online, usually on Amazon, maybe on Net-a-Porter or Shopbop for brand-name fashion, and locally on Multiply for handcrafted items by independent designers.
The problem, however, is that shopping on sites like these have not been easy. First, there is the problem of payment: not everyone owns a credit card. Second, delivery: You would have to ship an item to a US-based relative to make “padala” to avoid international shipping fees and the even more 
expensive duties and taxes paid upon delivery—which would come three weeks later. Buying on Multiply, on the other hand, involves a manual process that is both tedious and risky, with bank deposits and seller meet-ups.
Shopping online is meant to be about ease and efficiency—and now it finally is, with the launch of ZALORA, the Philippines’ first large-scale full-service e-commerce fashion site, carrying over 5,000 products and counting.
ZALORA is part of a global network of sister sites around the world, beginning with Zalando in Europe, which was launched in 2007. It is now the second largest e-commerce site in Europe after Amazon. Lamoda in Russia is the country’s number one online fashion site, and Dafiti in Brazil is similarly successful.
Paulo Campos and Brian Cu, the co-founders of ZALORA, looked at the phenomenal success of these sites and saw a replicable business model. Just at the end of 2011, they set up ZALORA in the Philippines and had the site up and running in six weeks. Their offices, called the Z/Loft, occupy a converted spa building on Jupiter Street, Makati, and have the feel of a hip young ad agency/fashion house/Internet start-up, with buyers on their computers, models being photographed in the studio, and products flying around.
“Online shopping is really big, and the Philippines has reached the tipping point. People have been waiting for this,” says Campos. “With ZALORA, we tried to address every barrier to adoption, every reason why you wouldn’t do your shopping online.”
Check it out now, log on to www.zalora.com.ph and shop til’ you drop.
Hi, this is Nisa from Zalora. Thanks for featuring us in your website. We have hundreds of products available for all ages in our site so click away and start shopping!
Continue supporting Zalora Philippines and more power!
This is certainly a welcome site for me. !!!