Discarding the “Taiwan Experience”
Optimistic about the Southeast-Asian market, in early 2017 Eztable—an online restaurant reservation platform—relocated its headquarters to Jakarta, where it intends to put down roots.
“Choosing to expand overseas has been part of the plan from the word go,” says Eztable CEO Alex Chen, who returned to Taiwan and set up the firm in 2008 after studying and working in the US. The new platform rose rapidly thanks to the innovative services offered by its network positioning system. As sales have grown, shareholders have widened to include investors from places such as Hong Kong and Japan. Chen has also evolved from founder to professional manager. Although Eztable’s Taiwan revenues have recorded 50% growth this year, he is still determined to seek opportunities overseas.
Before deciding to enter the Southeast-Asian market, Chen also went to China for onsite study. After several years of observation, he sees a triangular competitive situation similar to that of ancient China’s Three Kingdoms period, in which the modern-day players are Taiwan, Southeast Asia and mainland China.
According to his analysis, the mainland market is like the state of Wei, with its broad hinterland, rich resources and robust military; Korea and Japan are the state of Wu, content with their current territory and self-contained; while in contrast to Wei and Wu, Southeast Asia’s market resembles the state of Shu, underdeveloped but easily defended. It would be difficult to swallow the region whole, given that it comprises more than ten countries, all of which possess distinct cultures, religions and languages. But they represent important markets nonetheless.
Eztable actually began positioning itself within the Southeast-Asian market two years previously, but did so in a veiled manner. Thanks to several months of onsite observation this year, Chen has a better handle on Indonesia’s consumer marketplace.
Indonesia’s middle class is just now emerging, says Chen, and people are transitioning from shopping for basics, to a new emphasis on brand value. Similarly to periods of rapid growth that occurred in Taiwan in the 1970s and mainland China around year 2000, Indonesia is undergoing a phase of explosive expansion.
Eztable’s main service—online restaurant booking—is not a popular practice in Indonesia, and progress has fallen short of expectations. Chen says that people are not accustomed to booking a table, and even if they arrive to find an establishment full, they always have other options at hand. It is not only consumers who don’t normally reserve a seat; even restaurateurs themselves are not accustomed to accepting reservations.
Typically, a firm will transplant its domestic model to its overseas operations, but Chen completely rejected this approach and started from scratch. He recently led a team to Indonesia, specifically targeting its distinctive market, and launched “aFamily,” a totally new brand. It provides restaurant owners with a membership management platform, through which, by collecting and integrating membership data, they can organize online and offline marketing activities to encourage consumption and brand recognition.
Whether by providing booking services in Taiwan, or by targeting membership management services for Indonesia, in both cases Chen aims to connect consumers and restaurants. There is a real need for such client management, especially given the current state of development of the Internet, which has entered the era of “New Retail,” as China’s Internet mogul Jack Ma puts it. The distinction between physical and virtual commerce is no longer a focal point; providing customer solutions is now key.
Eztable is one of a small number of firms that have taken practical steps to enter the Indonesian market. Although the outside world is optimistic about the country, actual participants are still few as a wait-and-see approach dominates. “Language, culture and the regulatory system are all challenges,” says Rocketindo founder Daniel Liu, whose firm has helped Taiwan enterprises get a foothold in the Indonesian market in recent years.
On weekends and holidays, Jakarta’s ubiquitous malls are packed with visitors.