ARIANNE and RJ David
Think of it as having a new haircut. The edges are trimmed but you’re still the same person with a twist.
This is how sulit.com.ph—the Philippines’ premier online destination for buying and selling—views their name change.
Sulit.com.ph is now OLX.ph.
OLX stands for Online Exchange. After merging with Naspers OLX network, the world’s leading brand for online classifieds, the rebranding was a move to consolidate with the biggest brand for online classifieds.
“OLX also has the resources, knowledge and experience in running online businesses. As part of the global company, we come up with more ideas and innovations on how to make our site more convenient for users,” OLX Philippines managing director RJ David explains.
The new name invites over a million Filipinos to declutter their homes and sell them online. By selling them online, Filipinos increase their consumer spending power with ease. With a shortened name like OLX.ph, buyers and sellers now have easier means to connect and transact with one another.
“The name change represents our commitment to change how Filipinos perceive online selling. That selling stuff you no longer use is simple and can actually help you earn additional cash,” he adds.
Platform expansion is also on the works for OLX.ph. An upgraded app for Androids will soon be available for iOS users. A round the clock Customer Support will be available to assist users 24/7.
Previous Sulit members do not need to create a new user account or repost active ads since these will not be affected by the brand change. The free posting of ads, wide variety of items for sale and thousands of sellers to select from will be carried over to OLX.
OLX targets to grow its customer to customer base by encouraging Filipinos to sell their unused items on the Internet minus the fear of being cheated or falling for a hoax product endorsement.
Customer to customer or C2C is an innovative way to allow customers to interact with each other. It is a deviation from the traditional market of business to consumer relationship wherein customers proceed to a business or establishment to purchase goods. With C2C, customers sell goods and services to each other thus eliminating the need for an actual business establishment.
“Filipinos do not have much of a tradition of selling second-hand items so that most households end up with a clutter of items that are no longer used. If sold, these can turn into real value, which people can use to buy new things,” says David.
Claiming to have “online supremacy,” OLX Philippines has a 60 percent market share. To gain a stronger foothold in the online classifieds market, OLX Philippines sets its sights on convincing more Filipinos to wrap their fingers around untapped wealth with OLX.ph.
OLX aspires to reach over a million Filipinos to instill in them the notion that “if you’re no longer using it then let others benefit from it.” With this, OLX launched the “Yesss Yaman!” movement where they aim to make online selling a conscious habit for Filipinos and earn cash by posting their ads on OLX.ph.
David is positive that certain unused items in the household can be translated into extra earning opportunity for most Pinoys. With the Filipinos’ deep roots in entrepreneurship, OLX.ph provides a venue where they can update, select and transact with one another with ease.
In 2006, Arianne and RJ David set up an experimental website to test which niche market in the buy and sell category will be the best to target. “After seeing the traffic spike in all categories, we decided to launch a general classified ads website. We called it Sulit.com.ph since the word ‘sulit’ is a Filipino word that means “worth it” in English, basically representing the affordability of items being sold on the site,” he narrates.