At the beginning of 2023, fishing-related short videos are becoming a new favorite of phenomenal content.
"In a 'black pit' reservoir, a "fisherman" handsome throwing rod, after a while, several large silver carp successfully hooked..." This short video of less than 1 minute exploded on a social media platform in Southeast Asia.
(Photo source/photo provided by the brand)
Not only that, in mainstream social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, "phishing videos" are also frequently popular, and the three hottest topics are #fishing, #钓鱼人, and #户外钓鱼累计播放总量已超过千亿次. With the influx of new players from the young Z era, the fishing gear consumer market is also rising rapidly. According to Statista, the global sports and outdoor products market is expected to exceed $92.3 billion by 2023.
It is precisely because of this that many people who go overseas have seized this business opportunity early. For example, Seasir, a vertical fishing gear seller on the Lazada platform, is one of them.
01
"Be sure to be a brand"
In the matter of fishing, fishing enthusiasts around the world have long been eyeing China.
Data show that about 80% of the world's fishing tackle is produced by Chinese enterprises, of which more than 60% of fishing tackle is produced in Weihai, Shandong, the world's fishing gear capital, from production and processing to design and development, there is a very complete industrial chain and supply chain. Based on this innate advantage, at the beginning of his business, Allen (pseudonym), the founder of the Seasir brand, already had a clear goal: to do niche fishing gear e-commerce business.
He recalls that in the past few years, he has also been exposed to many different channels, including domestic mainstream e-commerce platforms, but over time, he gradually realized that he had to make changes.
The main reason is that domestic e-commerce is now almost saturated, although the current domestic factories have strong manufacturing capacity, but as the competition between e-commerce platforms enters the white heat, e-commerce operations are restricted in many aspects. Such as labor, cost, flow, logistics, etc. On the other hand, the same product, sold overseas, has a lot more opportunities than at home. And only by being a brand can it be long-lasting.
(Photo source/photo provided by the brand)
Therefore, Allen, who has been in the e-commerce circle for many years, came up with the idea of focusing on cross-border tracks and making brands. Coupled with the continued boom in the recreational fishing economy in recent years, it has further strengthened his determination.
02
"Catch the 'fish' of the deep sea of Lazada,
GMV surpassed 60,000 this month"
In March 2021, when Allen was seeking a broader overseas market increment, he accidentally came into contact with the Southeast Asian giant platform Lazada, which is backed by Ali big tree, strong funds, strong technology, mature operating model and other advantages, so that Lazada has always been in the top echelon of Southeast Asia, and Allen is convinced that choosing Lazada, in the blue ocean of Southeast Asia, you will definitely be able to catch "fish".
At the same time, compared with mature markets such as Europe and the United States, the cross-border e-commerce market in Southeast Asia has great potential. According to data from the World Economic Forum, the total population of Southeast Asia is about 670 million, accounting for about half of the Chinese population; and the population under the age of 30 accounts for more than 50%, and the Internet users reach 427 million, all of which have injected strong impetus into the development of the Internet in Southeast Asia. On the economic front, although offline shopping has recovered, the Southeast Asian e-commerce market still maintains rapid growth. According to eMarketer data, the total e-commerce sales in Southeast Asia reached US$89.67 billion in 2022, an increase of US$15.31 billion over last year. GMV is expected to reach $100 billion by 2023. More importantly, Southeast Asia has many similarities with China, and for sellers, it is completely possible to replicate the "Chinese model".
In fact, Allen, who set foot in the cross-border e-commerce industry for the first time, has gained a lot. In 2021, when Lazada was newly entered, the 3 new fishing gear products in the store achieved good results in the 99 promotion, and the GMV reached 60,000 US dollars that month.
Talking about its success factors, Allen said with a smile, "Product selection, supply chain capabilities, team operation strategy capabilities and platform support are indispensable, especially supply chain resources. ”
Different from other sellers, Seasir brand is backed by the advantageous industrial belt of Shandong Weihai, which can use and allocate resources more efficiently, the most obvious is that there are many raw material suppliers and equipment suppliers nearby, and Allen can embed the advantages of lower cost, higher quality and faster speed into the product itself. As a result, the dual brand advantages of quality and price have been created, further supporting the Seasir brand to sell in Southeast Asia. So far, the average monthly GMV of Seasir brand stores has stabilized at about 80,000 US dollars, and the Seasir brand has also opened business in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, and after less than 2 years of operation, Seasir won the Lazada Category of the Year award in 2022.
03
"Polishing fine products, going deep into the locality,
Forging core competitiveness"
But along the way, the road to gold mining in the Southeast Asian market surrounded by giants has not been smooth.
For example, the fishing gear category stands out as a relatively special product, and the peak products in other countries in Southeast Asia have not yet appeared. And Gen Z consumers tend to be cooler, more personalized products.
(Photo source/photo provided by the brand)
"From day one, Seasir has always been looking for the ultimate in our products."
According to Allen's observation, consumer portraits in many Southeast Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore) are still slightly different, young people will become the main force in the market, and everyone's requirements for product quality and innovation are constantly increasing. Therefore, before entering the market, Allen also spent a lot of time on market research and analysis, in order to bring better products to consumers, the company's team partners not only long-term research on fishing gear fishing gameplay, but also track consumer preferences, make adjustments to their designs, increase personalized experience, and win the trust and follow-up of a group of consumers.
In addition to product polishing, operating ports, Allen also has its own unique insights. In his opinion, the localization of "following the local customs" is particularly important, and all marketing strategies need to be combined with local customs, consumer behavior, and even climate and other aspects of in-depth research. For example, in terms of channel selection, for Southeast Asian netizens who love social fanaticism, fishing gear categories with high verticality are easier to directly reach target consumer groups on social media. In terms of event support, Lazada, which itself rises in the different cultural environment of six Southeast Asian countries, not only knows how to meet consumers in various countries, but also the platform will launch various event marketing games every year, bringing a greater traffic highland to Allen from multiple traffic entrances. It is worth mentioning that from March 3, Lazada will celebrate its 10th anniversary promotion, which is a carnival not to be missed for all category merchants.
In addition, another key factor in achieving such results lies in the services of the Lazada platform. "Xiaoer gave us a lot of guidance and help," Allen said, "I was very impressed that one month, the GMV of the store declined, and Xiaoer helped us analyze the cause as soon as possible and helped us solve it; In addition, every month and every Tuesday, some local market intelligence and trend forecasts will be continuously output. Allen was even more pleasantly surprised that Lazada also helped him solve various logistics problems. It is understood that after Seasir joined Lazada's overseas warehouse in 2021, it quickly solved the problem of logistics and transportation of special fishing rod products such as more than 110cm, and at the same time, logistics costs were also saved, further improving operating efficiency. "The overseas warehouse is still very helpful to our store, the most obvious praise and repurchase rate have improved, and now it only takes 1-3 days from delivery to customers."
Not only that, in the new year, the Seasir brand will continue to set off with full "power" and firmly stride towards the goal.
Going to sea in Southeast Asia has become a general trend. In the next "golden decade", it is foreseeable that the big ship of Lazada will continue to run wildly in the Southeast Asian market. On the occasion of the opening in March, Lazada will celebrate its eleventh birthday promotion, and sellers can seize every opportunity to create explosive products and reach new heights.