The Biggest Mistake Companies Make When Expanding Into Southeast Asia
Every year, companies arrive in SEA with one slide labelled 'SEA Strategy.' Most of those companies struggle. Some fail entirely.
The mistake? Treating a continent's worth of diversity as a single checkbox. Six countries. Six completely different realities.
Six Countries. Six Completely Different Realities.
Singapore ($65K GDP per capita) — Premium retail/digital. Price is not the primary driver; trust and brand prestige are.
Indonesia ($4,700) — Social commerce / warungs. Distribution is fragmented across 17,000 islands. Volume wins.
Vietnam ($4,100) — TikTok Shop / modern trade. Brand-conscious youth market; international brands have a halo effect.
Thailand ($7,200) — Shopping malls / LINE app. LINE dominates customer engagement. Loyalty programmes matter enormously.
Philippines ($3,600) — Facebook / sari-sari stores. Social media drives purchase decisions. Community trust is paramount.
Malaysia ($12,000) — E-commerce / malls. Multicultural market; Malay, Chinese, and Indian segments behave differently.
The 'One Asia' Trap — How It Destroys Brands
Cautionary Tale: Uber's Southeast Asia Collapse
Uber entered Southeast Asia with the same playbook that worked in the US and Europe: competitive pricing, app-first, no local customisation. But they missed everything that mattered locally — cash payments (most SEA consumers were unbanked), ojek culture in Indonesia (motorbike taxis), and the fierce localised loyalty that regional competitor Grab had spent years building. By 2018, Uber sold its entire SEA business to Grab at a fraction of what it was worth. Grab understood that Southeast Asia was not 'emerging USA'. It was its own thing entirely.
Success Story: Netflix's Market-by-Market Approach
Netflix did not launch a generic 'Asia strategy'. They invested in country-specific content — Thai dramas, Filipino romance films, Indonesian horror series. Their original Thai content 'Girl From Nowhere' attracted over 38 million global viewers. By tailoring content to specific cultures rather than defaulting to Western programming, Netflix grew its Southeast Asia subscriber base by over 50% between 2020 and 2022. Each market got its own content slate, its own pricing tier, and its own promotional strategy.
"Southeast Asia is not a destination. It is a portfolio of destinations. Companies that treat it as one will lose to companies that treat it as many." — Regional Director, FMCG Company, Singapore
What's your biggest takeaway or challenge when entering SEA markets? Drop it in the comments below.
About Us
Curt & Co Pte Ltd is a consulting company started amongst a group of business owners who were looking for a consulting company themselves for advice !
Our offices and our focus markets are in Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. With clients ranging from 1 man operating SMEs to listed companies, we are proud to have helped our clients across different industries gain market entry into the South East Asian region.
Contact us at marcus@curtconsult.com if you want to talk!
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