Business reorganization! TikTok refocuses on the UK and US markets

People familiar with the matter said that the social media company 's employees responsible for promoting TikTok Shop in Brazil are being placed in markets such as the UK, the US and Southeast Asia where the service has already been launched.

In 2021, TikTok launched the TikTok Shop feature in the UK, which allows brands and influencers to sell products through videos and live broadcasts.

Despite the huge success of the social e-commerce model in China, TikTok Shop has not performed very well elsewhere, especially failing to fully attract Western consumers and content creators.

According to insiders, TikTok's strategic shift led to a reorganization of its European e-commerce business in mid-April. All employees working in Spain were told that they needed to move to London. After the relocation, they will receive subsidies for flights home twice a month and six months of rent for their new home.

Former Spanish e-commerce head Lizhong Jiao was recently promoted to head of small business e-commerce in the UK. He has been with Bytedance since 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.

TikTok's London office has undergone several changes since the Financial Times revealed that there were cultural conflicts within TikTok's e-commerce team, leading to high employee turnover.

Staff working on the e-commerce business in London were recently told they would have to work a five-day week from September, reflecting the importance the company is placing on the project, while other departments have a more flexible working environment.

TikTok said its policy is to work in the office three days a week, but leaders have the authority to decide alternative policies for specific teams.

ByteDance hopes to promote social commerce as the mainstream shopping model in Western markets because this model has proved viable on TikTok's sister app Douyin, which has sold more than 10 billion products.

People familiar with the matter said it was estimated that TikTok Shop would generate £20 million in sales per quarter in the UK, but TikTok said the figure would be higher.

TikTok

Business Restructuring

British and American markets