Southeast Asian e-commerce company Shopee is set to close its Poland operations today after just more than a year of operation, Shopee Polska announced on its website.
Shopee launched in Poland the autumn of 2021, marking the Singapore-based group’s first foray into European e-commerce along with opening in France. The move was part of a global expansion plan which saw the company launching into India and Latin America as well.
However, just months after starting its operations in India, Shopee announced its withdrawal from the market due to a weak growth outlook. The firm has also exited France.
“The fact itself is perhaps not a big surprise, since Shopee has already withdrawn from some of its markets, and a few months ago it cut some of its jobs in Poland, so the expectations were rather that they will leave the Polish market as well”, said Wood & Co analyst Lukasz Wachelko.
The Polish market exit came after the company showed signs of struggling in the past several months.
Shopee recorded a loss of US$931.2 million for the second quarter of last year, a considerable increase from a net loss of $433.7 million for the same period in 2021.
The Sea Group-owned e-commerce giant was reported to lay off staff across several markets last June, including downsizing ShopeeFood and ShopeePay teams in Southeast Asia, its strongest market.
