eCommerce company Carousell has bought Duriana, the Malaysian mobile classifieds startup, to become the top mobile classifieds player in the market.
The deal adds significant critical mass to Carousell in Philippines, where Duriana has built a credible presence, and cements Carousell’s position as the largest and fastest growing mobile classifieds marketplace in Asia-Pacific.
Duriana is Carousell’s third acquisition in less than six months as it aims to become the world’s number one mobile classifieds marketplace. Since its launch in August 2012, Carousell has expanded to 19 major cities in seven countries, including recent launches in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Australia. This deal will add over 600,000 Duriana users to the Carousell platform, boosting its global classifieds marketplace which currently has over 57 million listings and over 23 million items sold as of the fourth quarter of 2016.
Since Carousell’s launch in Malaysia in December 2014 and in the Philippines in October 2016, the classifieds marketplace has been growing rapidly with almost 2 million items sold in Malaysia during the last quarter, almost double the previous quarter. In the Philippines, Carousell has also enjoyed strong growth with over 80 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in transactions.
“A classifieds marketplace offers its users the most value when there’s a large and vibrant community of buyers and sellers on the platform,” said Quek Siu Rui, co-founder and CEO of Carousell. “We saw that Duriana users had similar demographics and interests in buying and selling fashion items, gadgets and electronics as well as home furnishing. By bringing Duriana users onto the Carousell platform, we’re helping more people buy and sell their pre-loved items quickly and easily.”
Duriana users will join the Carousell marketplace, where they can continue buying and selling online as part of a larger global community.
“It’s been an exciting three years with Duriana, and we’re proud to have brought the company to this stage. After this exit, we’re looking forward to pursuing a new adventure.” said Saeed Gouda, co-founder and CEO of Duriana. “Carousell is shaking up the mobile classifieds space, and we’re confident that Duriana users will enjoy buying, selling and connecting as part of the vibrant Carousell community. “
