Social commerce platform Shopee is departing from India in less than a year it entered the South Asian country, citing “global market uncertainties” behind its exit.
Shopee dropped out of France at the end of February; after five months of foraying into the French market.
“In view of global market uncertainties, we have decided to close our early-stage Shopee India initiative,” a Shopee spokesperson said.
Notably, the Singapore-based e-commerce company Sea Group had to face a ban by the Indian government on its gaming app Garena Free Fire. At the same time, the Indian government had announced a ban on some Chinese apps.
The platform’s e-commerce division will stop its operations effective from Tuesday at midnight IST, according to sources, as per The Indian Express report. The source said that all orders placed on the platform within the already specified time frame will be completed.
Reportedly, Shopee has sent emails to the sellers on its platform informing the closure of operations in India.
“All services on the Shopee Seller Center, including payment withdrawal and disputes for returns, will be available through the existing channels until 30 May,” the source said. It added the platform’s logistics partners will continue to pick up and deliver any outstanding orders, as well as handle return deliveries.
Shopee was emerging as an at par competition for the Softbank-backed Meesho and Flipkart-backed Shopsy, the platforms designed to sell cheaper goods in bulk for the purpose of reselling.
But, holistically, Shoppe’s parent company Sea Ltd posted a net loss of $2 billion last year, with the fourth quarter alone contributing a loss of $616 million.
Earlier this year, a complainant filed an FIR against the company in Lucknow for allegedly selling duplicate products to the orderer. Further, the Competition Commission of India received a complaint against Shopee for engaging in “deep discounting”. The antitrust body earlier this month quashed the complaint.
Besides, Shopee also had to face flak from local traders, led by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), who requested that the platform be banned and wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, stating that the firm had broken India’s FDI guidelines.
Shopee’s business in India started in October 2021 as part of an aggressive international push that helped it make its presence in Europe. Sea’s market cap at the time was around $200 billion, which has tumbled to $64.76 billion in March 2022.