Since its creation in 2013, Pomelo has quickly become one of the most popular destinations for online fashion in Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. It seeks to distinguish itself from other e-commerce platforms by labeling itself as “a fast fashion brand first and e-tailer second”.
The company has been progressing since its launch, and today it announced, it has raised a follow-on round, bringing its total Series A funding to $11 million. This round was led by Jungle Ventures, who previously led their Series A, with participation from existing investors. New investors in the round include Andre Hoffmann, 500 Tuk Tuks, and Jonathan Price. Pomelo plans to utilize the funds to continue to their expansion in Southeast Asia as the favorite online fashion destination.
Frost and Sullivan has projected e-commerce in Southeast Asia to grow from $7 billion USD in 2013 to $34.5 billion USD in 2018, a CAGR of 37.6%. Clothes, shoes, and accessories constitute at least 60% of this massive retail opportunity. The fashion brand, thus, is focused on becoming the most preferred and profitable consumer brand in fashion e-commerce in this market. It has successfully merged the domains of technology and fashion to place itself at the forefront of the retail transformation taking place throughout Emerging Asia.
Pomelo co-founder and CEO David Jou says,
We strive to provide the absolute best in terms of online fashion through our unique vertically integrated supply chain. E-commerce is clearly approaching a tipping point in Southeast Asia and we’re lucky to be one of the leaders in the fast growing fashion vertical.
Pomelo continues to strengthen its management depth, as it appointed Meg Mistry (previously Regional Creative Director for Zalora) as Brand President and James Lamrock (former Chief Logistics Officer at Luxola) as Regional Vice President of Operations.
Jonathan Price also joins in an advisory capacity. He is currently a Senior Advisor at TPG and was previously the Managing Director of The Body Shop Asia and Global Chief Operating Officer of Targus.
Headquartered in Bangkok with offices in Korea, Indonesia, and China, Pomelo boasts a cult following globally with customers in over 44 countries.
