- \n
- Southeast Asia’s largest omnichannel womenswear brand has its eyes set
\non evolving into a purpose-driven female ecosystem that supports Asian women
\naround the world at every life stage<\/li>\n - Fundraising round led by Primavera Capital Group with participation from
\nAdastria and Ondine Capital<\/li>\n - The funds will be used to bolster efforts in existing omnichannel
\nmarkets and accelerate high growth international markets including Hong Kong,
\nJapan, Philippines and the United States (US)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nSINGAPORE –\u00a0Media OutReach<\/a>\u00a0– 27 October 2021 –\u00a0Love, Bonito<\/a> today announced
\nthe close of its Series C funding round, raising a total of US$50Million. The
\nround was led by Primavera Capital Group<\/b>,
\na global investment firm whose previous investments include Alibaba, ByteDance,
\nYum China and Mead Johnson China. Adastria and Ondine Capital participated in
\nthe round too. Love, Bonito’s current investors include Openspace Ventures<\/b> and Kakaku.com<\/b>.<\/p>\nProceeds from the fundraising will enable the brand to bolster efforts
\nin existing omnichannel markets and supercharge
\ninternational expansion<\/b> in markets that collectively are experiencing
\ntriple digits year-on-year (YoY) growth. These key markets include Hong Kong,
\nJapan, Philippines and the US. Furthermore, the company is exploring categories
\noutside of fashion as part of its plan to create a female ecosystem.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/images.media-outreach.com\/Thumb\/500x0\/190380\/Leadership-Team.jpg#image-190380\")
<\/p>\n(Above: Love, Bonito Senior Leadership Team)<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Supercharging International Expansion<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n
Since its launch in 2010, Love, Bonito has achieved impressive growth,
\nexpanding into 10 key markets which include those in Southeast Asia, namely
\nSingapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, and East Asia markets,
\nnamely Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan as well as Australia and the US.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
To date, Love, Bonito has achieved overall growth of over 120 per cent
\nYoY in international markets, and overall growth of 208 per cent for its online
\nsales. The company believes the Asian diaspora communities have extremely high
\npotential, especially in the US, where online revenue growth exceeded 1,200 per
\ncent YoY as of September 2021. <\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the latest funding, the brand will double down efforts within
\nmarkets such as Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia that have omni-channel
\npresence, while other markets such as Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines and the US
\nwill see an expansion in omni-channels, new business verticals, strengthening
\nof local community engagement and key collaborations, as well as the continuous
\noptimisation of user experiences.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I am more excited
\nthan ever for what is to come in the next decade,” said Rachel Lim, Co-Founder
\nof Love, Bonito. “The growth we see today would not have happened without
\n#TeamLB and our #LBCommunity who consistently strive to support women in the
\ndifferent seasons of their lives. Being in the business of women has been our
\nmission since day one, and we are finally venturing outside of fashion to
\nbolster our offerings.”<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Business of Women vs Business of Fashion<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n
In line with the brand’s mission to empower the everyday Asian woman,
\nplans are in place to increase offerings within the fashion line to include active apparel and accessories<\/b>. The
\nbrand is also looking to venture into a content
\nplatform<\/b> (LiBrary) as well as exploration into new categories<\/b> (LaB) which will include wellness<\/b>. <\/b><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The category and product expansion strategy is informed and driven by
\ndata and community feedback garnered from several platforms, including the
\nbrand’s soon-to-be-launched artificial intelligence that delivers
\npersonalisation at scale for women globally, through data and machine-learning
\nmodels. Other existing platforms that contribute to the insights and knowledge
\ngathering include:<\/p>\n- \n
- LBCommunity+<\/b><\/a>: Love, Bonito’s loyalty programme that
\nprovides customers an all-access community and rewards experience<\/li>\n- LBCreate<\/b><\/a>: Love, Bonito’s social impact programme with
\nthe mission to bring women’s issues to the forefront and create actionable
\nsteps for the future<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n“We have built a
\nstrong foundation in understanding the everyday Asian woman in order to be pre-emptive
\nin catering to her needs,” said Dione Song, CEO of Love, Bonito. “We are primed
\nto become a true life partner for our community of women, in and beyond fashion.
\nWe have yet to see a womenswear brand from the region stand proud on the world
\nstage amongst industry heavyweights and we want to be the first brand to
\nachieve that, by being purpose-driven, community-focused and innovative.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We want to extend
\nour heartfelt thanks to our existing and new investors who bring deep consumer
\ninvestment experience and recognise the potential of the Asian consumer, both
\nwithin and outside of the region,” added Dione.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lead investor
\nPrimavera provided a statement: “Love, Bonito has proven itself to be a
\none-of-a-kind, purpose-driven brand for women across all life-stages. Consumers
\nare drawn by what the brand stands for and its mission to empower women around
\nthe world. Primavera is deeply impressed by how much the team has achieved over
\nthe last decade and looks forward to tapping into our understanding and
\nexperience in the global consumer sector to help elevate Love, Bonito to the
\nnext level. We are thrilled to join Dione and the rest of the team on this
\npath-breaking journey.” <\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Love, Bonito’s first
\nexternal institutional investor, Openspace said: “From day one, we believed in
\nwhat the brand could achieve as a business led by women, for women. We are
\nthrilled to now work alongside esteemed investors like Primavera to help write
\nthe brand’s next chapter.”<\/p>\nSeries
\nB lead investor Kakaku.com added: “We are delighted to be on the global stage
\nwith Love, Bonito, and will continue to support the brand’s data and tech
\nstrategies, especially on their entry into the Japanese market.” <\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
In
\nthe next phase of its growth, Love, Bonito aims to shake up the fashion
\nindustry by creating a more meaningful impact on its community across all life
\nstages. The brand is setting its sights on creating a thoughtful and
\nwell-rounded female ecosystem, supporting different facets of women’s needs
\nwithin Asian countries and reaching further into the Asian diaspora communities
\nacross the globe.<\/p>\n - LBCreate<\/b><\/a>: Love, Bonito’s social impact programme with
- LBCommunity+<\/b><\/a>: Love, Bonito’s loyalty programme that