Online marketplace appoints senior hires amid bullish outlook for B2B retail wholesale and post-funding growth drive
HONG KONG, June 30, 2022 – Peeba, the Hong Kong-based online B2B wholesale marketplace, today announced senior appointments as the company strengthens its presence across the Asia Pacific market. Joining the Peeba team are Benny Wong as supply chain director and Brian Lee as vice president of product. The major additions to its core team come hot on the heels of Peeba’s US$4.2 million seed funding round led by Headline Asia, announced this past April.
“These key hires are fantastic additions to our team as we expand our services to an ever-growing number of unique brands and APAC-based retailers,” said Jacky Lai, CEO of Peeba. “We’re in a high-growth phase as we double down in all our major markets, to ensure strength and stability for the long term. Benny and Brian will both play vital roles in these efforts, bringing their considerable respective expertise to the table.”
Benny Wong Appointed Supply Chain Director
Wong joins Peeba amid one of the most turbulent times for supply chains in recent memory, with predictability becoming the priority, replacing just-in-time strategies. As the pandemic shook supply chain management principles to their core, Peeba has stepped up to support brands and retailers alike, with innovative approaches such as B2B group buying.
Wong brings with him extensive hands-on expertise in supply chain management. He previously served in C-Suite positions in several global e-commerce logistics startups, after starting out as a management trainee at Kerry Logistics Network.
“Predictability is the new game-changing ability in this field,” said Wong. “Our field is no longer about lowering inventory and aiming for just-in-time – that was the previous world. Now our focus is on predictability in every aspect, factoring in geopolitics, taxation, consumer behavior, even the cost of doing business. I’m excited to join Peeba as they grapple these new challenges, to help small businesses not only survive, but thrive.”
Brian Lee Appointed VP of Product
Peeba has appointed Brian Lee as VP of Product amid a major growth drive. Operating across 11 APAC regions, Peeba has already achieved 3x and 10x growth in onboarding brands and retailers, respectively, in the last year alone. That puts its total current user base at 1,500 brands from around the world and 25,000 APAC retailers.
Lee’s prior experience includes his tenure as product lead for local leisure at e-commerce platform Klook, where he spearheaded the growth and development of F&B, entertainment, and insurance. He was also previously head of product at Lifehack, where he grew the site’s monthly active users from 300K to 10M, transforming the platform into one of the top productivity websites in the U.S.
“I jumped at the chance to join Peeba because the team here is tackling a problem that no one else has figured out yet,” Lee said. “The B2B retail wholesale market in Asia is basically untapped due to the complexities of this highly fragmented market. Peeba is really digging into the behaviors of consumers and retailers on the local level. Localization isn’t just about language, it’s about cultural practices, understanding people’s behaviors, and then building a product that really helps them. Being based in Hong Kong gives us a massive advantage in this.”
“Asia is the world’s largest retail market, with massive population centers and huge room for future growth,” said Kevin Cho, co-founder at Peeba. “We’re excited to welcome Benny and Brian to the team, as Peeba expands exponentially in this high-growth market. While the retail market continues to feel the lingering effects of COVID on logistics, shipping, and footfall, at Peeba we are confident of the promising outlook for retail in APAC, especially for B2B wholesale.”
About Peeba
Founded in 2020, Peeba is a fast-growing online B2B wholesale marketplace that provides independent retailers across Asia access to a curated catalog of unique brands, reduced inventory risk, higher operational efficiency, and lower costs. With the vision to help companies “Buy Smart, Sell More,” Peeba is set to transform the way Asia’s retailers discover and connect with unique brands, with cutting-edge machine learning technology and innovative supply chain management systems. Learn more at peeba.com.
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Camilla Tenn: [email protected]