Alibaba to Invest $1 Billion in E-Commerce Startup Lazada, page-6

When I look at the financials disclosed by Lazada & Zalora, I find Ensogo to be no better or worst than these so-called market leaders.

For FY2015 ....

Lazada had GMV of u$1.02bn and ebitda loss of -u$296m (-29% ebitda margin).
Zalora had GMV of e$274m and ebitda loss of -e$94m (-34% ebitda margin).
Ensogo had GMV of a$60m and ebtida loss of -a$24m (-39% ebitda margin).

Of course Ensogo negative ebitda margin (on GMV) of -39% is 5-10% higher than Lazada and Zalora, but given Ensogo much smaller base in 2015 (and no market place model), this is hardly, by comparison, a disaster. Beyond the red pool of blood, there is value to these franchises evident by Alibaba's interest.

Another way to read it is that e-commerce is so difficult that even Lazada gave up. According to a techcrunch and techinasia articles, Zalora is close to running out of cash in coming months while Lazada was in a similar cash position (needing a bridge round) and took Alibaba's offer.

Ensogo has Vipshop and a 12 month runway with its cash - lets see how the drama unfolds in 2016.