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Millennial tech boss marries online, physical retail in Philippines

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Gillan Ropero, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/business/01/02/josh-supan.jpg"/><figcaption>E-commerce startup Xpanse CEO Josh Supan in an interview with ABS-CBN News in Pasig City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA – Millennial tech entrepreneur Josh Supan still shops in brick and mortar stores &quot;8 times out of 10,&quot; as he builds virtual stores in the Philippines for international brands.The 27-year-old founder of Xpanse believes the Philippines will have the &quot;perfect marriage&quot; between physical and online retail, thanks to a deeply entrenched shopping mall culture and a young population that buys almost anything from digital channels from lipsticks to iPhones.The Manila-based Ateneo de Davao alumnus powered through bankruptcy twice to establish Xpanse, tipped to become the Philippines&#x27; second &quot;unicorn&quot; or startup valued at $1 billion (P50.7 billion).&quot;Usually when you don’t have money you quit, but me and my founders didn’t. We kept with it. I remember I’d always go to different clients and actually beg them, ‘please give it a chance, you’re gonna like it. True enough, they did like it and they stayed,&quot; he told ABS-CBN News.Fresh from a Christmas party from the previous night, Supan was dressed for the interview in average millennial attire: white chunky sneakers, joggers, and a hoodie with his company&#x27;s logo.&quot;When we started Xpanse…we wanted the whole business to be able to pay for itself. Eventually people started to notice because apparently a tech company in the Philippines that is stable and in the green is rare.&quot;Xpanse-built websites have grown 300 percent year-on-year in terms of value, Supan said, as online stores’ contribution to brand sales grew to 8 to 12 percent from 1 to 2 percent in 2017.The company is more than halfway to the monthly P35 million revenue it needs to achieve &quot;unicorn&quot; status. Past $1 billion startups include Uber, Airbnb, Go-Jek and Space X.<div>CAPPING PHYSICAL REACH</div>&quot;There’s no need to over-expand your brand in terms of brick and mortar. I don’t have to open 7,000 locations. I can have a few key locations and then just do the rest online,&quot; he said.&quot;In other countries, they always fear this thing called ‘retail apocalypse,’ a lot of brick and mortar brands filed for bankruptcy because not a lot of Americans go to physical stores anymore. I don’t think that’s the case for the Philippines,&quot; he said.Supan is building Xpanse&#x27;s niche among shoppers who buy &quot;wants&quot; such as fashion from &quot;needs&quot; like food.&quot;You have to have an avenue or like a medium for the wants of a specific person because that’s never gonna leave a certain person, especially if they have the buying power for it,” he said.<div>&#x27;EXPONENTIAL&#x27; GROWTH</div>Growth in startups is &quot;exponential,&quot; often without enough time to &quot;catch your breath as a company,&quot; Supan said.&quot;It’s a good problem, I guess. We’re all forced to grow up faster than we should be,&quot; he said.&quot;You don’t wanna squander it because you never know, especially in tech, next day baka (maybe) you’re bankrupt. You always have to be on your guard basically.&quot;After reaching billion-dollar status, which Xpanse targets within the first quarter of 2020, the firm plans to expand to Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam to enable cross-border shipping.E-commerce in the Philippines will likely mature and become a &quot;staple&quot; in 3-4 years.&quot;Other countries realize it already. When the Philippines is ready at least we’re right there ready to help everybody else,&quot; he said.<div>(Editor&#x27;s Note: An earlier version of this story mentioned brand names that were removed upon the request of the interviewee.)</div>

The 27-year-old founder of Xpanse believes the Philippines will have the "perfect marriage" between physical and online retail, thanks to a deeply entrenched shopping mall culture and a young population that buys almost anything from digital channels from lipsticks to iPhones.

The 27-year-old founder of Xpanse believes the Philippines will have the "perfect marriage" between physical and online retail, thanks to a deeply entrenched shopping mall culture and a young population that buys almost anything from digital channels from lipsticks to iPhones.

Millennial tech boss marries online, physical retail in Philippines

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Millennial tech boss marries online, physical retail in Philippines

Gillan Ropero,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 02, 2020 08:01 AM PHT

|

Updated Jan 03, 2020 04:15 PM PHT

Read More:

Josh Supan

Xpanse

e-commerce

tech

startup

retail

malls

shopping

marketplace

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