Love, Bonito raised $50 M Series C funding from Alibaba investor Primavera
Love, Bonito, a Singapore-based omnichannel womenswear brand, has announced the completion of its US $50 million Series C funding round.
Primavera Capital Group, a Chinese venture capital firm that has invested in Alibaba and ByteDance, led this round. Adastria (a publicly-traded Japanese retailer) and Ondine Capital (a Chinese investment firm) have also joined.
Love, Bonito secured $13 million in 2018 from investors led by Kakaku.com, a Japanese comparison-shopping site. The startup is also backed by Openspace Ventures.
The fresh funds will be used to boost the brand’s operations in current omnichannel markets as well as accelerate its worldwide expansion in countries like Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States. As part of its ambition to develop a female ecosystem, it is also looking at categories other than fashion.
In areas with a strong omnichannel presence, such as Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, the corporation will double down on its efforts. Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States will see the brand’s omnichannel and new business verticals grow.
Love, Bonito was founded in 2010 and has now grown to ten markets. Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia are in Southeast Asia; Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia are in East Asia; while the United States is in North America.
To date, the company claims to have grown by over 120 percent year over year in overseas markets and 208 percent in online sales. It believes the Asian diaspora populations have enormous potential, particularly in the United States, where internet sales growth topped 1,200% y-o-y in September 2021.
It also intends to expand the fashion line’s products to include activewear and accessories. In addition, it plans to launch a content platform (LiBrary) and branch out into additional categories (LaB), such as wellness.
Love, Bonito wants to build a smart and well-rounded female ecosystem in the next phase of its development, addressing all aspects of women’s needs inside Asian countries and reaching out to Asian diaspora groups throughout the world.
“We have built a strong foundation in understanding the everyday Asian woman to be pre-emptive in catering to her needs,” said Dione Song, CEO of Love, Bonito. “We are primed to become a true-life partner for our community of women, in and beyond fashion. We have yet to see a womenswear brand from the region stand proud on the world stage amongst industry heavyweights. We want to be the first brand to achieve that by being purpose-driven, community-focused, and innovative.
