Foreign owned e-commerce company Leflair files for bankruptcy

In March, the company suspended operation, and hundreds of suppliers of the e-commerce website accused it of not paying them.

More than a100 suppliers said they did not receive payments from the company which were due between December and February. They were surprised at the shutdown announcement.

The online seller of clothes, household items, and cosmetics was said to owe $2 million to 500 suppliers but has less than $50,000 in the bank, VnExpress cited Pierre Antoine Brun, co-founder, and chief operating officer of the Ho Chi Minh City-based company.  

It stopped partnering with local suppliers in early February before ceasing operations.

Two co-founders, Pierre-Antoine Brun and Loic Gautier, recently joined fashion retailer Maison. Brun has joined Maison as COO, while Gautier has become its chief growth officer (CGO). Their move to Maison was reported by local newswire CafeF.

Brun and Gautier will take charge of Maison's IT systems, logistics, loyalty program, brand operations as well as marketing and business development, among others.

Founded in 2015 by the former Lazada executives, Leflair offered high-end fashion products on its platform and has raised almost $12 million from investors.

The company said during its four years of operations it had served over 120,000 customers and earned annual revenues of tens of millions of dollars.

E-commerce market is witnessing a fierce competition between firms in Vietnam.

Local conglomerate Vingroup and South Korean chaebol Lotte had to merge their marketplace websites with other units, claiming to pursue the new retail model, while Mobile World Group shut down its e-commerce unit Vuivui.com. Thai retailer Central Group's Robins Vietnam closed its online fashion store.

Source: Deal Street Asia