Naspers-owned OLX enters 11 new markets

·16 Sep 2014

Naspers-owned online classifieds platform OLX, has expanded in eleven new countries across Southeast Asia and Europe, with the rebranding of nine classifieds sites in those regions.

As part of an ongoing initiative to transform OLX into the world’s largest consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace, Naspers has consolidated its online classified services in Switzerland, the Philippines, Thailand, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Indonesia, and re-branded them as OLX.

“Our aggressive effort to build the best user experience – particularly on mobile devices – is the chief reason OLX has been able to grow so rapidly in developing regions around the world,” said Alec Oxenford, OLX co-founder.

“With the rebrand of these nine platforms, OLX is even better positioned to lead the online classifieds category.”

Naspers initially acquired a majority stake in OLX in 2010, which has increased to 95% over time.

Naspers rebranded most of its other online classifieds properties – Ricardo, Tablica, Aprod, Prodavalnik, Sulit, Dealfish, Mercador, Slando and Tokobagus – as OLX, following several years of rapid growth by the startup, which was founded in Buenos Aires and New York.

OLX’s localized, C2C, online marketplace allows users to easily buy and sell goods and services such as electronics, furniture, household goods, cars and bikes.

Mobile users have fueled a significant portion of OLX’s growth since its launch in 2006, particularly in major emerging markets like Brazil and India.

Earlier this month, Effective Measure noted that OLX competitor in South Africa, Gumtree, attracts 8 million unique visitors each month, making it the largest website in SA by user base. OLX is not listed on the digital audience monitor.