Buzzebees, a loyalty and digital engagement platform company, has postponed its plan to file for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) due to unfavourable market conditions.
The company originally planned to launch the filing in last year's fourth quarter.
Buzzebees wants to become a regional player and aims to list in the US on the Nasdaq, according to its mid-term plan.
"We decided to postpone the IPO filing from the fourth quarter last year, based on unfavourable stock market conditions. Instead, we will seek opportunities with a private equity fund," Nattida Sanguansin, managing director and co-founder of Buzzebees, told the Bangkok Post.
The company will consider filing again as soon as the market sentiment improves, she said.
Operating in six countries -- Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia -- Buzzebees supports more than 1,200 partner platforms with over 170 million user accounts.
Last year the company posted lower revenue growth of 10% to 2.5 billion baht, attributed to economic challenges, compared with an average annual growth rate of 30%.
Buzzebees expects to return to 30% growth this year, reaching 3.4 billion baht in revenue, said Ms Nattida.
The company offers e-commerce enabler services such as end-to-end e-commerce solutions, covering store set-up, campaign management and post-sales support. This service has demonstrated exponential growth, she said.
During the period 2022-2024, the service consistently grew by more than 100% annually, according to the company.
Last year, e-commerce sales via its enabler service on many platforms exceeded 2 billion baht in transaction value.
TikTok has emerged as the fastest-growing platform for Buzzebees since the company expanded its store management services to the platform in mid-2023.
By 2024, TikTok alone generated 500 million baht in sales for Buzzebees' client brands, reflecting a 530% year-on-year growth over 2023.
Other platforms also experienced significant growth, with Shopee recording a 116% year-on-year increase and Lazada seeing a 30% year-on-year rise.
E-marketplaces are volatile and continue to increase commission fees as their headquarters need to make them profitable. However, they also continue to use subsidy strategies, otherwise they may lose market share.
"The e-marketplaces that used to spend marketing budgets will grow and gain market share. Their policies change dynamically, often on a monthly basis. In the near future, we might see them increase fees if brands fail to meet the required minimum sales," said Ms Nattida.
She said brands also attempt to build their own online channels and depend less on the e-marketplaces, particular brands relating to IT, gadgets and fast-moving consumer goods that have thinner margins.
"Brands need to have multiple channels to serve customers as not every brand can draw traffic from buyers. Having your own channels can add to operation costs," said Ms Nattida.
The company plans to highlight its customer relationship management (CRM) business this year, claiming it can help clients increase return on investment by 3-4 times, she said.
Last year Buzzebees worked to improve its efficiency on CRM implementation for clients, reducing the amount of time from 2-3 months to 10 days, with the next step being five days, said Ms Nattida.
"We need to disrupt ourselves in order to survive," she said.
Ms Nattida said the company continues to focus on profitable and sustainable business while exploring opportunities for inorganic growth through acquisition which would boost its economy of scale and acquire new talent.
"We will continue to grow the business overseas which currently accounts for 10% of total revenue," she said.
According to business data platform Creden Data, Sabuy Technology has a 17% stake in Buzzebees, while Beacon Venture Capital owns 11%. PTT Oil and Retail Business's Modulus Venture has an 11% stake and Ms Nattida hold a 10% stake in the company.