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Carousell (company)

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Carousell is a Singaporean smartphone and web-based consumer to consumer and business to consumer marketplace buying and selling new and secondhand goods. Headquartered in Singapore, it also operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Carousell is available on both iOS and Android devices.

History

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Carousell was founded in Singapore on 14 May 2012, by co-founders Quek Siu Rui, Lucas Ngoo, and Marcus Tan. The first item sold on Carousell was an Amazon Kindle e-reader for S$75.[1] Carousell was subsequently registered as Carousell Pte. Ltd. on 2 January 2013.[2]

Carousell received its first investment from Quest Ventures.[3] In November 2013, Rakuten, with follow-on investments by Golden Gate Ventures, 500 Global (previously 500 Startups), and a few other investors invested $1 million in Carousell.[4][5] Subsequently, in November 2014, Carousell announced that it received US$6 million in investment from Sequoia India.[6] In August 2016, Carousell raised $35 million in their Series B funding round by Rakuten Ventures, Sequoia India, Golden Gate Ventures, and 500 Global.[7][8] In October 2016, Carousell acquired Singaporean mobile-first used car marketplace and dealership tool Caarly.[9][10][11] A consortium led by South Korean Internet giant Naver has struck an investment deal with classifieds platform Carousell worth US$80 million. Following the deal, the Singapore-headquartered start-up will be valued at over US$900 million.[12]

As of 2016, over 23 million items had been sold on Carousell and users had created over 57 million listings of new and used items for sale.[13]

Carousell has expanded regionally to several countries, including Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia.[7] However, Carousell's expansion into Taiwan faces competition against headstart companies like Yahoo! and Ruten, which are already settled in the e-commerce market.[14] In April 2019, Carousell acquired OLX Philippines after receiving an investment from Naspers.[15]

The company raised $85 million Series C funding in May 2018. The round was co-led by existing investor Rakuten Ventures and EDBI. Other participants included 500 Global, Golden Gate Ventures and Sequoia India as well as new investor DBS.[16]

On 21 November 2019, Carousell merged with Telenor's 701Search to creates a regional leader in online classifieds across 8 markets in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Mudah, Chotot and OneKyat which were owned by 701Search will retain their individual brands and platforms, continuing operations in Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar respectively following the merger.[17]

In June 2021, Bloomberg reported that Carousell is planning a SPAC merger.[18][19] In September 2021, Carousell announced that it had raised US$100 million in a round of funding led by South Korean private equity firm STIC Investments,[20] bringing its valuation to US$1.1 billion.

Partnerships and collaborations

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In January 2013, Singapore Press Holdings' ST Classifieds announced its collaboration with Carousell.[21]

According to a Yahoo Finance article in August 2013, Carousell announced its partnership with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Magazines, a subsidiary of SPH, to create a mobile app called SheShops Marketplace, selling fashion and beauty items.[22][23]

On 21 June 2018, Carousell announced its partnership with DBS Holdings, Stripe and VISA, to launch CarouPay, a mobile payment service.[24] In 2019, Carousell revamped CarouPay to launch Carousell Protection.[25] Carousell Protection is its secure in-app payment feature that allows buyer and seller to make payment and complete the deal on Carousell, through credit/debit card or DBS PayLah!. Some features include that the payment be held by Carousell until both buyer and seller are satisfied with the transaction, and that buyers and sellers are given a platform to raise and resolve issues with their order in the app.[26]

In 2019, Carousell has merged with 701Search, the classifieds firm owned by Norwegian telco Telenor Group, lifting the value of the Singapore start-up to over US$850 million (S$1.16 billion) from US$560 million.[27]

Operation

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Items are prohibited for sale on Carousell if they are illegal or violate the marketplace's community guidelines.[28]

In an effort to curb COVID-19, Carousell issued in-app advisories to protect users from face-to-face transactions.[29]

Carousell Media Group appointed a new head of ad operations in 2021.[30]

Controversies

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In a Yahoo Tumblr page, images of users posting photos or screenshots of their bad experiences on Carousell relating to scams, fraud and harassment have circulated on social media platforms like Facebook and Tumblr.[31] Users of Carousell also complained about scams by fake sellers.[32] The Singapore Police Force has reported that over 70% of e-commerce scams in 2018 took place on Carousell.[33]

In October 2020, it was reported to the Health Sciences Authority that a long-banned weight-loss product was sold on Carousell and other e-commerce platforms.[34]

In January 2022, Carousell leaks more than 2.6 million users personal data, over 320,000 Hong Kong users’ data being compromised. [35][36]

References

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  1. ^ "Carousell makes e-commerce simpler with mobile marketplace". e27. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  2. ^ "CAROUSELL PTE. LTD. (201300296D) - Singapore Business Directory". SGPBusiness.com. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  3. ^ Chan, Melissa (2017-03-06). "S'pore Startup Founders Talk About Their First Investors, And The Meetings That Started It All". Vulcan Post. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  4. ^ "Singapore's Carousell raises $6M, gets Sequoia as new investor, squashes competition". techinasia. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Singaporean marketplace app Carousell snags $800K funding, sets sights on Malaysia and Indonesia". Techinasia. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  6. ^ Today, Online. "Carousell secures S$7.79 million in funding". Today Online. Today Papers. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Carousell Caps Off A Successful 2016 With Australian Expansion, Raking In 1M Listings In 9 Months!". Vulcan Post. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  9. ^ "Carousell gears up for growth with Caarly acquisition". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  10. ^ "Carousell acquires Caarly, strengthens automotive vertical". Digital News Asia. 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  11. ^ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  12. ^ hermes (2020-09-17). "Carousell to surpass $1.2b valuation with Naver investment". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  13. ^ "Carousell has a new app for buying and selling cars". Tech In Asia. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Carousell's entry into Taiwan presents big opportunities and big challenges". TechinAsia. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Carousell acquires OLX Philippines following investment from Naspers". Philippine Star. 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  16. ^ "Southeast Asia-based mobile listings startup Carousell raises $85M – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  17. ^ "Telenor Group merges online classifieds assets with Carousell". Telenor Group. 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  18. ^ Lee, Yoolim (2021-09-15). "Online Marketplace Carousell Is Singapore's Newest Unicorn". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  19. ^ Chew, Elffie (2021-06-28). "Singapore's Carousell Explores U.S. Listing Via SPAC". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  20. ^ "Carousell Group raises US$100 million from STIC Investments to accelerate Classifieds 4.0 in Greater Southeast Asia". Carousell Press. 2021-09-15. Archived from the original on 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  21. ^ "STClassifieds collaborates with Carousell to strengthen foothold with the Gen Y users". ST Classifieds. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  22. ^ "Carousell partners with Blu Inc Media". asiaone news. Straits Times. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  23. ^ "Carousell partners with SPH Magazines, marries editorial and e-commerce". Yahoo! Finance. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  24. ^ "Carousell launches mobile wallet CarouPay". The Straits Times. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  25. ^ "Carousell launches payment protection program". AIM Group. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  26. ^ "CarouPay is now Carousell Protection". AIM Group. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  27. ^ hermesauto (2019-11-21). "Carousell to merge with 701Search, valuing Singapore start-up at over $1 billion". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  28. ^ "Prohibited items on Carousell". Carousell Help. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  29. ^ "Meet-ups and self collections not allowed for Carousell users during circuit breaker". mothership.sg. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  30. ^ Natali, Jacopo. "Ad operations changes". Archived from the original on 2021-04-20.
  31. ^ "'Bro, still avail?' Wacky conversations on the Carousell app compiled in Tumblr blog". Yahoosg! Tumblr. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  32. ^ "Carousell e-commerce scams jump 136% in first half of 2018: Police". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  33. ^ "Carousell e-commerce scams jump 136% in first half of 2018: Police". Yahoo News Singapore. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  34. ^ Wong, Shiying (14 October 2020). "HSA warns against weight-loss product Mone Macha Cocoa over serious health risks". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  35. ^ "Carousell保安系統漏洞致逾32萬香港用戶資料外洩". Yahoo news Hong Kong. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  36. ^ "Privacy watchdog says 320,000 Carousell users' data was leaked in security breach". www.thestandard.com.hk. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
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