1/2/12018 – Love, Bonito, a womenswear label based in Singapore has announced the completion of an additional US$13 million Series B funding round led by Kakaku.com, alongside the participation of existing investor NSI Ventures.
This latest financing round comes after its last Series A from NSI Ventures in 2016, which was essential in advancing the startup to become a fast-growing regional brand and more than double its sales.
Over the past two years, the company has worked closely with the institutional investor to build a strong foundation and scale the business to the point where it is ready to receive additional expansion capital to accelerate its next growth phase.
“We look forward to benefiting from Kakaku.com’s consumer and technology expertise and we are also excited to continue to leverage NSI Ventures’ hands-on approach to helping companies scale globally,” said Dione Song, the Chief Commercial Officer of Love, Bonito.
With the latest fundraising initiative, the proceedings will be aimed to advance the women’s lifestyle brand direction in creating new community-based retail experiences, through integrating digital and brick-and-mortar channels.
“This will be achieved by bolstering its product, data, and engineering teams, building brand relevance in new markets across Asia Pacific as well as deepening its influence in existing markets,” Song added.
Founded in 2010 by co-founders Viola Tan and Rachel Lim, the fashion brand currently maintains a workforce of 80 staff with both online and retail presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia.
On the other hand, NSI Ventures is a unit of private equity firm NorthStar Group which manages five funds with more than US$2 billion in assets under management (AUM). NSI Ventures itself has an AUM in excess of US$150 million and its latest investment comes from its second vehicle, NSI Ventures II, which was closed in December 2017.
“The success Love, Bonito has achieved thus far truly validates the brand’s unique approach towards growing an engaged community both physically and digitally,” said Hian Goh, the Founder and General Partner of NSI Ventures.
“Love, Bonito has a very strong business proposition and distinctive strategy in the fashion retail space, and we are confident in the opportunities the region has to offer.”
Meanwhile, Bonito, Love’s newest financial backer, Kakaku.com is an online service provider with a diverse portfolio in multiple verticals, including shopping, food, travel, lifestyle, and real estate that is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
“Much like how the perfect fit boosts a woman’s confidence, we are truly grateful for the vote of confidence from prominent investment players in our mission. We look forward to benefiting from Kakaku.com’s consumer and technology expertise and we are excited to continue to leverage NSI Ventures’ hands-on approach to helping companies scale globally,” said Dione Song.
According to Love, Bonito, its average customer makes over four purchases a year and the average sell-through rate is over 70 percent within one month. The startup claims it delivered more than 50,000 packages in 2017.
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