Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“I love that at work, no one calls me boss. Instead, I am seen as the big brother to some 100 younger colleagues in the category that I lead. I am by far the oldest person in my team, with others being in their 20s and 30s. I am aware of the generation gap and the potential problems it can create with my teammates, so when a 22-year-old intern approaches me to ask for professional advice or openly share their personal issues, I know I must be doing something right.
Just recently, a young colleague shared that his wife had been complaining about him not spending enough time with his family because of work. I told him that being a perfectionist, as he was, could be a double-edged sword. He needed to learn to trust his subordinates, empower them, delegate work and carry out initiatives that shorten the workflow. When he was able to do that, his productivity increased and his family life improved.
As the ‘big brother, it’s important to me to make everyone in the team feel at home. I remember that when I was a child, my grandfather always told me to genuinely care for and look after others and to put ourselves in others’ shoes before we make any decisions. That has become second nature to me. Even though we are mostly working from home these days, I try to ensure that I can still take care of my team – whether it’s through sending care packages or being available over the phone or through messages or video conferences. I hope that one day we can meet again to grab a beer, enjoy some local dishes and catch up in person, just like we used to.”
Featured photo above shows Lazada Vietnam’s electronics category team. Canh Ky Huynh is pictured in the centre wearing a blue áo dài.
This profile was compiled by Bao Uyen Bui, who was from the Lazada PR team in Vietnam.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“You know the saying ‘never judge a book by its cover’? Well, this rings true for me quite often because a lot of people wouldn’t peg me as a guy who does parkour. People would say to me, ‘I can’t imagine you jumping over guard rails and leaping across rooftops.’ It must be my glasses – they probably make me look more corporate than I am.
The fact is it’s been more than 10 years since I’ve been involved with the sport. I instantly fell in love with it the very first time I did it. At the beginning, I thought the idea of doing parkour itself was cool since it instantly became a topic of conversation. However, I quickly realised that the sport also helps you overcome your fears and empowers you to confront them. It doesn’t matter if you are 15, 35 or 55, when you are ‘in the zone’, nothing matters except the obstacle and technique. You focus on what you want and break it down into achievable steps. It’s very much like how life is.
I started MoveParkour in 2017 to teach others the sport as a way to make it more accessible. When the pandemic hit, it was certainly a challenge because parkour is such a physical sport, and no one had ready-made obstacles they could use at home. We began recording online tutorials by using everyday things, such as chairs and books. We even showed how you can train on flat ground.
To this day I’m still amused by the surprised looks on people’s faces when I talk about parkour. I explain to them that the sport benefits you not only physically but also mentally. It teaches you resilience, discipline and risk management, and it improves mind-and-body coordination, or as I prefer to call it, connection. These are all useful skills to help a person navigate the real obstacles in life.”
This profile was compiled by Anoushka Bhar from the Lazada PR team in Malaysia.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“When I started my journey with Lazada in 2015, working in logistics, I never thought that there would come a time when my job would be not only a lifeline for my family and me but also for the many people homebound due to the pandemic. One of the key lessons my parents taught me and my siblings growing up is to always be of service to others, and now I understand why. Knowing that customers are getting their essentials delivered to them safely and keeping my team safe and healthy provides me with a satisfaction that no money could buy.
This feeling helps me through the daily challenges that we face as frontliners. There have been times when I’ve been anxious about going home to my family after a long day’s work, fearful that I might unknowingly spread the virus in my household. There have also been other challenges during lockdown, like getting to work without public transportation (the answer is bicycles!), keeping everybody working in the warehouses safe and connecting with our families when we are apart. During the early months of the lockdown last year, our team members and I stayed at the warehouse facilities to minimize the risk of exposure to our families and communities as well as to ensure that we can still ‘get to’ work every day. Even though it was one of the hardest times, it was also the best of times. We talked and relaxed together as we prepped for the next work day ahead. We were always close as a team, but those dark days brought us even closer together. While many of us missed our own families, we were glad to have one another.
The pandemic is far from over, and I’m mindful that each day, many of these same challenges remain with us. But knowing that there are people on the same journey with you is what makes all the difference.”
This profile was compiled by Mina Cunanan from the Lazada PR team in the Philippines.
Consumers, brands, businesses as well as more than 110 celebrities and influencers came together on March 26 for a virtual Super Party to kick off Lazada’s ninth anniversary celebrations. There were performances from Katy Perry, NCT Dream and local talents from across Southeast Asia, and more than 5 million viewers tuned in to watch the signature star-studded concert on Lazada’s in-app livestreaming channel, LazLive. The concert was simulcast on more than a dozen local TV networks across six markets in the region, and for the first time, was also livestreamed on various social media platforms. On top of the celebrations, which also included various shoppertainment features that have become synonymous with the platform’s annual birthday event, this year’s anniversary marked a particularly important phase in the company’s history.
While the eCommerce platform is still relatively young and has a lot of room to grow, it is also established and mature enough to contribute back to the region that has provided it with a dynamic and supportive home for close to a decade. In a light-hearted LinkedIn post, Lazada’s Chief Strategy Officer Magnus Ekbom compared the nine-year-old company to a pre-adolescent child who has just learned how to ride a bicycle and finally gets to stay up late with friends. “To some extent, we are a bit like the bigger brother or the older sister who you know you can always count on,” he said.
Being a company that people can depend on has been especially important during a time of unprecedented challenges brought on by COVID-19. As the pandemic disrupted all corners of the globe over the past year, providing for different sectors of local communities became the main priority for Lazada. When the novel coronavirus reached Asia, Lazada worked with the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation to transport and distribute donated medical supplies to impacted countries. It also leveraged its digital giving platform, LazadaForGood, to raise funds for impacted groups and rolled out various initiatives to empower sellers during the economic downturn while also keeping customers across Southeast Asia safe, informed and in access of daily necessities amid lockdowns.
These efforts offer a glimpse into just how far Lazada has come since it was first established in 2012. Back then, as a fledgling start-up in Jakarta, the platform’s main concern was figuring out how to win over customers when there was still a lot of scepticism about online shopping. To build up excitement, Lazada came up with 12.12, an e-shopping festival that is now one of the biggest annual retail events in Southeast Asia. Aside from introducing other mega shopping festivals and campaigns throughout the years, the company has also launched its mobile app, built up a robust digital and logistics infrastructure and implemented initiatives such as the intellectual property protection platform to create an eCommerce environment that is safe and sustainable for customers, sellers and partners alike.
“When you’ve been at something for nine years and so many things have happened and transpired, it’s easier to take shortcuts. But I think what you will find about Lazada – also in the earliest days and not just now – is that we didn’t take any shortcuts,” Ekbom said. “What we need is to always make sure that we create more value than we take. And that is true in everything that we do.”
Indeed, all of Lazada’s initiatives and innovations have been designed to create value in some way for others in the community, be it sellers, buyers, governments or those in the private and public sectors. Thanks to these efforts, Lazada now serves more than 100 million annual active consumers across six markets and is viewed not just as an online marketplace but the go-to lifestyle platform that combines everything from entertainment to solutions for payments and logistics.
“We are not just a transactional player that is there one day and not there the next day,” Ekbom said. “People trust us. They can count on us.”
Lazada celebrated its ninth anniversary with a star-studded signature Super Party.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“Lazada had just celebrated its seventh birthday sales campaign, and everyone was getting ready to wind down, celebrate the results and recharge before our next project. That was when I got the news. March 29, 2019. Breast cancer. All I could think of at that moment was my son, who was only 11 years old at the time.
As a single mum, I am the only parent my son has. I had to fight this disease and be strong for my son. Giving up was never an option. After all, I’m known as the “iron lady” at work. My family rallied around us, offering unwavering support during my treatment and recovery. In fact, visits from my family became so frequent that at one point I had to kick them out just so I could rest! But that’s the best thing about family, right? They are there even when you don’t want them to be, and for that, I am grateful. The best surprise – and my pride – was my son. He was my biggest supporter, always telling me how strong I was, especially on days when I didn’t feel like that at all. I thought I had to be strong for him, but in fact, it was the other way around.
I am in remission now, and each day is a gift – a gift to spend more time with my family, with my son. I’ve also begun catching up on the latest Korean and Chinese comedy and drama series. They are a great way to destress and also to feed my wanderlust since international travel isn’t as easy as it used to be.
To the women who may be going through what I did, stay positive. We are often stronger than we think but, also, don’t be afraid to show your vulnerability during tough times. The beauty is that during the dark days, we have people stronger than us. Reach out, get coffee, go for a walk with the people you love and who love you. You are not alone in this journey.”
This profile was compiled by Anoushka Bhar from the Lazada PR team in Malaysia.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“I never thought I would be responsible for raising a child in my early 20s, but all this changed when my younger sister became pregnant with my niece.
Growing up, my sister and I were close. She was always the shy one, and I, being five years older, felt it was my duty to protect her. In high school, she met a guy, but he wasn’t right for her. We tried to warn her at the time, but she wouldn’t listen and even ran away from home.
Eventually, she became pregnant with his child. He refused to take responsibility, and my sister was too young and not ready to be a mother. My parents were dealing with some financial troubles and could barely cope themselves. For the first time in my life I felt this overwhelming desire to become responsible for someone else’s life – my little baby niece.
I had also just graduated from university at that time and was looking forward to living my life as a free and young adult. The arrival of my niece made me reconsider my priorities. I could no longer go out with my friends whenever I wanted to or go on spontaneous weekend trips to the beaches. But even with all that, I never considered my niece to be a burden. In fact, she has become the delight and source of strength in my life. Life will always be lined with obstacles, but also gems along the way.”
This profile was compiled by Pimchaya Boonyarattaphan (Kwang) from the Lazada PR team in Thailand.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“I majored in psychology and spent a year and a half after university as a child therapist, working primarily with children with autism. Those were challenging but fulfilling days. I felt the parents’ angst and frustrations when they could not understand their child, but I also experienced their joy when they finally learned how to read the child’s cues and trigger points and could communicate with him or her.
Curiosity then got the better of me. I wondered what it would be like to work in a corporate environment and ended up in a sales and marketing job that eventually led me to join Lazada in 2016 as a category director. One of my jobs at the time was to train owners of micro, small and medium enterprises and to help them expand their businesses online. At times, I could sense the frustrations and feelings of uncertainty from these business owners who were selling online for the first time. But when they shared with me stories of how they were now able to send their kids to better schools and have a better quality of life, I also shared in their happiness and delight.
I realised that whether as a child therapist or a sales person, one can have the ability, and I would even say power, to change other people’s lives for the better. Putting people at the centre of what we do gives more meaning to whatever it is that we are doing. Now in my role as chief people officer, where I’m responsible for hundreds of Lazada Indonesia employees, this philosophy resonates even more. Working remotely during the pandemic has been tough for many colleagues. I can understand their frustrations. My team sent out care packages with juice and vitamins to everyone, from the office boy to the board of directors, so that everyone can stay healthy and also share in the relief that we are not alone in this situation.”
This profile was compiled by Jessica Horsan from the Lazada PR team in Indonesia.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“Growing up, my parents sacrificed a lot for my sibling and me. We had a very modest lifestyle, and my parents always made sure that they were able to provide for all our family needs. When I graduated, I took the first job that I felt allowed me to give back to them in a big way. I became a management trainee at Unilever. Working at a big multinational company right out of college was intimidating. I didn’t know anything or anyone, but that was the start of a journey that made me the person I am today. Over the years, I went from being a salesperson to becoming the company’s country marketing manager, driving digital transformation in the food services business.
As rewarding as marketing was, I wanted to do more – to help others navigate their careers, because I remembered those early days, feeling lost. I got certified as a life coach by two leading organisations and had to learn and unlearn many things as well as make financial trade-offs to sustain my new path. I founded a small coaching firm, Purposeful Careers, to help individuals define their strengths and pursue careers that aligned with their personal goals and passions.
My transitional path eventually led me to my current role at Lazada. Now, as a member of the organisation and talent development team, my own job and personal purpose are aligned! This role has allowed me to empower my fellow Lazadians as I work with them to develop their goals, discover their strengths and what makes them passionate about their work. I’m also happy to say that it’s my turn to spoil my family and give them the things they always wanted and deserve.”
This profile was compiled by Mina Cunanan from the Lazada PR team in the Philippines.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“After years of flying around the world as an air stewardess, I met my husband, got married and left my job to become a mother of two young boys. I eventually rejoined the workforce, taking on a role as a people care analyst at Lazada. Last year, my husband lost his job as a sales manager due to the pandemic, and I became the sole breadwinner in our family. Having grown up in a family with strong patriarchal values, my husband had a tough time staying at home. He believed it was his duty to provide for the family. The role reversal in our household and him not being able to financially provide presented a new set of challenges for both of us. I tried to encourage him to change his perspective on what it meant to “contribute to the family,” which included managing the house and being there for our children.
Afraid that I would also lose my job, I took on more responsibilities at work at the expense of spending time with my family. I wanted to keep my job by proving my value in the company. Initially, my husband and I fought over my lack of time and emotional availability at home. We finally had a conversation to share our fears and frustrations, and my husband and I grew to understand each other better and managed our expectations. Our situation has since improved. Time at home has strengthened my husband’s relationship with our boys. He recently found a new job and is back at work. My supervisor has also been very encouraging and constantly reassures me of my work performance, which brings me immense relief. Looking back, the past year has been extremely difficult. But as a mother and wife who is also pursuing her career goals, I found the strength to persevere and a sense of pride to be able to provide for my family during one of our most trying times.”
This profile was compiled by Catherine Yang from the Lazada PR team in Singapore.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“I have three babies – my 2.5-year-old twins and the fast-moving consumer goods category at Lazada. I joined the company in March 2012. This was before we launched the Lazada site. No one knew what Lazada was, what it did, or what eCommerce was about. We only had around 60 people working in a small office at Copac Square Building in Ho Chi Minh City. We did most things manually, including onboarding new brands, which involved entering the information of signed contracts into the system bit by bit, as well as all our reports and follow-up on orders. Everyone from our CEO at the time to an associate like me rolled up their sleeves to get things done. We still do, but now we have about 400 more people doing that and, of course, the technology to help. During my early days at Lazada, our monthly revenue target was the equivalent of what we get on a daily basis today.
Together with my supervisor at the time, we built the FMCG category from scratch. It was only in 2014 that I started to have teammates. It was like raising a child – one has to be patient. There were days when the child tried to walk, but couldn’t and fell. Then you find ways to encourage the child, bring out the child’s strengths and feel proud when he or she is finally running. That’s how I feel each day watching the category grow, especially the mother and baby segment, which has grown more than 30 times from when we began. Being a mother to two young boys helped me nurture a team at work. I hear my team out and find solutions to any challenges that we may face. Apparently, I have earned a nickname here. People call me ‘mum.’ I think it was always meant to be my calling in life – at home and at work.”
This profile was compiled by Bao Uyen Bui from the Lazada PR team in Vietnam.
