"Gem of a portal: Kon Sean (seated 3rd from right) posing with employees of the online store.
PETALING JAYA: Quek Kon Sean, the youngest son of billionaire Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan of the Hong Leong Group, has founded GEMFive, an online shopping portal that he plans to take into the regional digital space, targeting Singapore and Indonesia next.
GEMFive, which will be launched in Malaysia on May 18, is operated by GuoLine eMarketing, an independent new private entity owned by the Hong Leong Group.
The startup funding is provided by the Hong Leong Group and so far less than RM5mil has been invested to take GEMFive to the digital space. “We are a capex light investment, but the major spending has yet to come,’’ Kon Sean told reporters yesterday, adding that the expansion into Singapore and Indonesia will be by early next year.
The online store has close to 300 brands and over 10,000 items for among others fashion, home and living, beauty and health, mothers, children and electronics. It is asset light because it does not carry a heavy inventory.
Online portals for buying and selling of products have been mushrooming across the globe as people find online portals a convenient way to shop. According to reported statistics released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, online consumers globally are expected to grow to 1.623 billion in 2018 from 1.079 billion in 2013.
A report citing Forbes said in 2011, total e-commerce transactions in Malaysia came up to almost RM900mil. This year, it may be worth as much as RM5bil, whereas e-commerce sales worldwide are estimated to hit US$2 trillion in 2015.
Though there is competition in the digital space, Moey Tan, the CEO of GuoLine eMarketing felt there was also a huge untapped market. The differentiating factor for GEMFive would be the way it engages with its customers, create value and its diverse range of products.
“We want to ensure that our products are genuine and there will be no parallel imports on our site,’’ she added.
On returns, Kon Sean said: “We have to be realistic as we see other players have gone into the business too but this can be made into a profitable business if there is scale and until we reach that (level).’’ He said the gestation period could be about two years.
Kon Sean is not the only son of a tycoon to venture into the digital space.
Anthony Tan, a grandson of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd co-founder Tan Sri Tan Yuet Foh co-founded MyTeksi about two years ago. Today that app has gained popularity across the region. Anthony Tan is the son of Datuk Tan Heng Chew, Tan Chong’s executive deputy chairman and group managing director.
Being a startup, MyTeksi managed to secure funding of up to RM300mil over the years. In comparison, Rocket had raised US$370mil (RM1.3bil) for online shopping portals Lazada and US$218mil for Zalora.
