Sea’s Shopee faces boycott calls in the Philippines over brand ambassador
SEA’s e-commerce business Shopee faced boycott calls from Philippine consumers after naming a staunch supporter of the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, as its brand ambassador.
Shopee announced on Thursday (Sep 29) that Filipina actress and singer Toni Gonzaga, who hosted campaign rallies for Marcos, was its new brand ambassador. That led to calls on social media to stop using the shopping app.
The hash-tags #ByeShopee and #BoycottShopee became top trends on Twitter in the Philippines, with about 340,000 tweets about the company as of Friday (Sep 30) morning, with some users defending the firm. The second-most popular topic involved posts calling on shoppers to switch to Lazada, a rival e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group Holding.
A spokesperson for Shopee was not immediately able to comment on the issue. A Philippine Daily Inquirer report quoted a Shopee representative as saying that Gonzaga was chosen for her “mass appeal,” not for her political leanings. Gonzaga said in a Philippine Star report that she’s “grateful” for the mentions and engagements.
The backlash presents a new headache for Singapore-based Sea, already beset by ballooning losses which have forced it to lay off employees and retreat from the Latin America market. Its shares traded in New York are down 76 per cent this year.
Shopee ranked first by average monthly active users in the shopping category in South-east Asia, Sea said in its quarterly earnings report, citing analysis from data.ai.
Marcos Jr won 59 per cent of votes during the May elections, but he’s opposed by a minority concerned by alleged corruption and human rights abuses during the dictatorship of his father. BLOOMBERG
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
