Published 2014-11-27

Telenor and Schibsted in SOBAZAAR partnership

Telenor and Schibsted Media Group are entering into equal partnership in SOBAZAAR, a Norwegian company that has developed a social network service and online marketplace for fashion which has quickly attracted the attention of bloggers and fashionistas.

SOBAZAAR.com aims to provide you with ‘your daily fashion fix’, a promise that is clearly catching on among users; the service has gained more than 30,000 users in just three months. SOBAZAAR’s users find inspiration from friends and fashionistas about the latest news in clothes, footwear and accessories, not to mention good deals. SOBAZAAR also provides a social network service where users can create their own fashion boards on fashion-related articles and follow and communicate with fellow users.

“In an impressively short space of time, Telenor and SOBAZAAR have created an exciting and engaging mobile service that makes everyday life simpler and more fun for anyone with an interest in fashion,” says Lars Vangen Jordet, CEO of Schibsted Vekst AS.

“This service fits perfectly with our other e-commerce products such as Let’s Deal, Prisjakt, KickBack and Ebok.no. Schibsted Growth’s team is excited to contribute to SOBAZAAR’s continued development and growth with the help of Schibsted’s know-how and strong distribution capability,” says Jordet.

SOBAZAAR has created a robust, scalable solution that provides a channel for users’ social engagement and individuality, at the same time as it facilitates an arena for effective shopping. SOBAZAAR’s seamless integration with a wide range of other fashion industry players means that it can already offer more than 50 brands and round 50,000 products through its app.

Create a profile, search for designers and create your own fashion boards in SOBAZAAR.

“It’s important for Telenor to give SOBAZAAR a strong base on which to grow. Based on our experiences with other partnerships with Schibsted, we’re convinced that we’re building SOBAZAAR faster and stronger as a team than we would have done alone,” says Gunnar Sellæg, Head of Development in Telenor.

“The process of building SOBAZAAR in Telenor has been incredibly exciting. It demonstrates that there is room for innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in a big global organization, and we’re proud that Schibsted now wants to take part in developing SOBAZAAR further. It’s a rare privilege for a new company to gain two owners that are strong, willing to expand, and with expertise in key areas such as mobile, media and the internet. We’re looking forward to continuing the development,” says Jeanette Dyhre Kvisvik, CEO of SOBAZAAR.

Telenor and Schibsted Media Group will each own 50 percent of the company. The partnership is subject to approval by the European Union’s competition authority.