OLX Global B.V.
TypeIncorporated
IndustryOnline marketplace classifieds
Founded2006 (2006)
Headquarters
Amsterdam
,
Netherlands
Number of locations
30+ countries
Area served
United States, Latin America, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Western Africa, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Romania, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia
Key people
Lydia Paterson (CEO)[1]
ServicesMarketplaces
Revenue$2.98 billion USD (2022)[2]
Number of employees
2500
ParentProsus (a division of Naspers)
SubsidiariesAutoTrader.co.za, letgo, Tradus, 321Sprzedane!, Autovit.ro, Domofond.ru, Fixly, Imovirtual, OLX, OLX Autos, Otomoto, Otodom, Property24, Selency, Standvirtual, webuyanycar.com, yula.la
Websitewww.olxgroup.com

OLX Group is a Dutch-domiciled online market place headquartered in Amsterdam.[3] The OLX consumer brand originated as OnLine eXchange in 2006.[4] OLX Group is owned by Prosus, the international assets division of Naspers.[3]

History

OLX brand and Naspers (2006-15)

Fabrice Grinda and Alec Oxenford started the company as a Craigslist alternative for the world outside of the United States.[3]

In 2006, it acquired Mundoanuncio.com, a classifieds site targeting the Hispanic market and in 2007, it made an investment in Chinese classifieds site Edeng.cn.[5]

In 2009, the company partnered with social network Hi5.[6]

Naspers acquired a majority of ownership in OLX in 2010, as part of its classifieds' division.[7] Naspers increased its ownership share of OLX to 95% of the company in 2014.

OLX launched in Nigeria in 2012.[8] The company purchased its Nigerian competitor, TradeStable.[9][10] However, in February 2018 OLX announced the shut-down of its Nigerian office and a complete pullout from Nigeria.[11]

Philippine classified ads site Sulit and social networking site Multiply rebranded as OLX in 2014. The merger in the Philippines between OLX and Ayos Dito redirected Ayos Dito users to OLX as of 2015.[12] In April 2019, Carousell acquired OLX Philippines after receiving an investment from Naspers.[13] The deal also gave OLX 10% stake in Carousell.[14]

In Indonesia, in March 2014, OLX took over Tokobagus.com, and rebranded to OLX.co.id.[15] In July 2020, BeliMobilGue rebranded itself as OLX Autos in Indonesia.[16] The CEO of OLX Autos in Indonesia since August 2019 is Johnny Widodo.[17]

OLX Cashmycar, a joint venture between Frontier Cars Group (FCG) and OLX in India, was announced in November 2018.[18][19] This was offline expansion of OLX online platform.[20] OLX Cashmycar launched its 50th store in February 2019.[21]

In April 2014, Middle European classifieds of the Naspers group in Romania, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Hungary and Poland rebranded as OLX.[22]

In September 2014, the Ukrainian classified Slando.ua joined the OLX Group.[23]

In November 2014, Naspers formed a joint-venture with Schibsted to co-own OLX Brazil.[24]

Formation of OLX Group to present (2016-21)

In Kenya in 2016, farmers have reportedly used OLX to sell their produce and livestock, especially chicken and cattle.[25][26]

In late 2016 it launched Tradus as a heavy machinery classifieds site.[27]

OLX ceased its operations in Venezuela on September 11, 2018, due to complex political issues and lack of free dealing.[28][29][30]

In 2019, Avito was the second-biggest classifieds site in the world after Craigslist.[31]

In April 2019, online classifieds marketplace Jiji.ng acquired OLX businesses in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria.[32]

In India, about 99% of its listings come from used mobile and electronics, used home and household goods, and used cars & bikes.[33] In December 2020, OLX Launched OLX Autos in India.[34] CEO of OLX Autos in India is Amit Kumar.[35] OLX's operations in India, like other online retailers, has faced problems with fraud and faced problems with people selling stolen vehicles. In combating fraud, nearly 25% of the car listings get rejected by its systems to protect users from fraud.[36][37] In 2021, the current CEO was replaced by Romain Voog,[38] a previous Amazon and Airbnb veteran, to continue the growth of the business participating in the development of OLX Autos. [39]

As of August 2023, the Indonesian branch of OLX is wholly owned by national automotive conglomerate Astra International.[40]

Marketplaces

OLX brand

OLX

Multinational logo from 2018 in three color variations by DesignStudio

Logo used in Brazil since 2019
Type of site
Marketplace
URLolx.com
Launched2006

OLX was founded in 2006.[41] In 2021, the OLX brand was active in Poland, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Colombia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Peru, Pakistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.[42]

The OLX marketplace is a platform for buying and selling services and goods such as electronics, fashion items, furniture, household goods, cars and bikes. In 2014, the platform reportedly had 11 billion page views, 200 million monthly active users, 25 million listings, and 8.5 million transactions per month.[3]

South African media group Naspers acquired a majority of OLX in 2010 and 95% of the company in 2014.[43]

Fraud management

Over the years, OLX has become a common place for fraud, especially because of sellers who post fake advertisements to dupe buyers upon receiving advance payment, and fraudulent buyers who engage in UPI scam, phishing, and sending fake SMSes and emails of payment confirmation.[44][45][46]

In 2018, OLX claimed that it rejects nearly 25% of the advertisements at the initial stage; the company also stated that it would work with law enforcement agencies to curb fraudulent activities on the platform.[47] Despite these claims, advertisements to sell properties of public interest, such as the Statue of Unity and a former Indian Air Force fighter jet, have been posted on the site.[48][49]

Auctions of items with racist content

In July 2020, the Polish anti-racist organization Never Again announced that on the OLX platform one can purchase fan stickers with the name of Janusz Waluś, a Polish-born far-right activist serving a life sentence for a racist murder in South Africa.[50] In September 2020, in cooperation with Never Again, South African media published a series of articles about the auctions of items with racist and fascist content that were for sale on OLX.[51][52] OLX's parent company, Naspers, had published pro-apartheid propaganda during the apartheid era, for which it publicly apologised in 2015.[53][54] During the September 2020 media attention to the issue, Naspers media relations director Shamiela Letsoalo stated that Naspers "unequivocally condemns racism, including racist content posted by external parties for sale on the trading platforms of our companies. Our systems use technology automatically to identify and remove listings that violate OLX's policies ... we are constantly improving its accuracy".[55]

Other brands

As of 2022, OLX Group operated around 20 brands in around 30 countries. Among them were 321Sprzedane!, Autotrader, Autovit.ro, Avito, Domofond.ru, fixly, Imovirtual, letgo, OLX, OLX Autos, OLX Brasil, Otodom, Otomoto, Property24, Selency, Standvirtual, Tradus, Waah Jobs, and webuyanycar.com.[56]

Controversy

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24, many international, particularly Western, companies pulled out of Russia. Unlike most of its Western competitors, OLX has been slow to announce any disinvestments or scaling back of its operations in Russia, drawing criticism. The criticism concerned in particular its Avito service, which among others publishes advertisements about recruiting to the Russian army. Avito reportedly posted employment offers by the Russian military and the Russian Federal Security Service for the Voronezh and Belgorod regions, which border Ukraine.[57][58]

References

  1. ↑ "In Conversation with our CEO, Lydia Paterson". OLX Group. March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Prosus Report 2022". Prosus. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Meet OLX, the biggest Web company you've never heard of". Fortune. 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  4. ↑ Mander, Benedict (2016-09-19). "Argentina: home to the majority of Latin America's tech unicorns". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  5. ↑ Rao, Leena (26 August 2010). "Naspers Makes Strategic Investment In Craigslist Competitor OLX". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  6. ↑ Wauters, Robin (6 August 2009). "OLX And hi5 Join Forces For International Expansion Plans". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  7. ↑ Perez, Sarah (2015-09-03). "Mobile App Letgo Raises $100 Million From Naspers To Take Over Classifieds In The U.S." TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  8. ↑ "OLX claims three million sellers, buyers at third anniversary". 7 October 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  9. ↑ "Naspers pulls India into its online web". Business Day Live. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  10. ↑ Abiodun, Eromosele (2015-04-01). "Nigeria: OLX Expands Platform, Acquires Tradestable". This Day (Lagos). Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  11. ↑ "CONFIRMED: OLX shuts down office in Nigeria". 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  12. ↑ "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  13. ↑ "Carousell acquires OLX Philippines following investment from Naspers". Philippine Star. 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  14. ↑ "Southeast Asia's Carousell snags $56M from Naspers-owned OLX". TechCrunch. 10 April 2019.
  15. ↑ "Cerita OLX Mengubur Tokobagus dan Berniaga". detikinet (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2017-08-30.
  16. ↑ "BeliMobilGue rebrands as OLX Autos". Swa.
  17. ↑ "Indonesia's BeliMobilGue secures $30m, appoints ex-Ovo exec as new CEO". techinasia.
  18. ↑ "OLX announces its plan of further expanding its used car business in India". Geekymint.
  19. ↑ "Updated: OLX Launches Physical Used Car Stores Cash My Car". Medianama.
  20. ↑ "OLX to expand used car business offline, eyes 150 outlets by 2021". Outlook.
  21. ↑ "OLX Cash My Car in Top Gear With the Launch of Its 50th Store". Business wire India.
  22. ↑ "Slando меняет название на OLX.ua и запускается на украинском". ain.ua (in Russian). 8 September 2014. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  23. ↑ "Сайт объявлений Slando меняет название". korrespondent.net (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  24. ↑ "South African, Norwegian e-commerce rivals bury hatchet in Brazil battle". Reuters. 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  25. ↑ "More than 10,000 farmers use ads site OLX to sell produce". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  26. ↑ Ollinga, Michael. "OLX sets up agriculture category to rid sector of middlemen". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  27. ↑ "About us Tradus". www.tradus.com. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  28. ↑ Acukat (11 September 2018). "OLX es la nueva víctima de Maduro, cierra operaciones y se despide de Venezuela - Venezuela al dia". www.venezuelaaldia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  29. ↑ "Otro que se va... OLX Venezuela anuncia el cierre de todas sus plataformas (Foto)". LaPatilla.com (in European Spanish). 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  30. ↑ Web, El Nacional (2018-09-11). "OLX Venezuela anunció el cese de sus operaciones en el país". El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  31. ↑ "Naspers takes full control of Russian classifieds site Avito in $1.16B deal". TechCrunch. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  32. ↑ "Jiji to buy OLX in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania". 3 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  33. ↑ indiainfoline.com. "Naspers-Backed OLX takes No.1 position in emerging markets". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  34. ↑ "OLX expands to offline used car buying/selling marketplace: Launches OLX Autos". financialexpress.
  35. ↑ "OLX merges online brand with offline CashMyCar for seamless car trade-in experience". MoneyControl.
  36. ↑ Philip, Lijee; Vijayraghavan, Kala (25 October 2019). "The cat and mouse game starts in used cars' online sales". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  37. ↑ "Planning to sell stuff on OLX, Quikr? You might be cheated by fraudsters - Don't make these mistakes". Zee Business. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  38. ↑ Communication Team, OLX Group. "Prosus welcomes Romain Voog to lead OLX Group". OLX Group. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  39. ↑ Haviland, Victoria. "OLX Switches out CEO's with Romain Voog". Online Marketplaces. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  40. ↑ Sidik, Syahrizal (August 11, 2023). "Grup Astra Resmi Kuasai Seluruh Saham OLX". Katadata.co.id. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Story | OLX Group".
  42. ↑ https://www.olx.com
  43. ↑ "Naspers-owned OLX enters 11 new markets". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  44. ↑ "UPI fraud: Scammers are tricking users, here's how to keep yourself safe". The Indian Express. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  45. ↑ "Duping buyers across India by posing as army officers on OLX: TN cops crack scam". www.thenewsminute.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  46. ↑ "Fake sellers, long distance buyers: Why you should be wary of buying/selling online". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  47. ↑ "Working with authorities to curb fraud cases: Olx | Hyderabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  48. ↑ "Coronavirus: Advertisement placed on OLX to 'sell' Statue of Unity, case filed". Hindustan Times. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  49. ↑ "MiG-23 on AMU campus put up for sale on OLX, varsity calls it mischief". Hindustan Times. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  50. ↑ "Racism Returns to the Stadiums".
  51. ↑ "Right-wing Poland and the glorification of Hani's killer - The Mail & Guardian". 8 September 2020.
  52. ↑ "Right-wing Poland and the glorification of Hani's killer - the Mail & Guardian". mg.co.za. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  53. ↑ "So. Africa: Apartheid victim group calls on Naspers to establish reparations fund following apology for "complicity in a morally indefensible political regime"".
  54. ↑ "Call for Naspers/Media24 to pay for apartheid role".
  55. ↑ "Janusz Walus: Why far-right Polish football fans idolise a murderer in South Africa". BBC News. 19 September 2020.
  56. ↑ "Brands | OLX Group".
  57. ↑ Pikuła, Rafał (18 March 2022). "Firma powiązana z Grupą OLX pomaga w rekrutacji do rosyjskiej armii. Z rynku wycofać się nie chce". wyborcza.biz (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  58. ↑ Khumalo, Sibongile. "'Too early' to decide fate of Naspers-owned Russian classified ads business". Fin24. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
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