🇰🇪 Kenyan e-commerce company Copia collapses. Copia Global, the parent company of a mass-market e-tailer that has raised $123 million in venture funding, is on the brink of closure after hiring KPMG to manage its administration process, citing “uncertainty about the future,” CEO Tim Steele wrote in an internal memo obtained by the company. Tech Cabal “It is very likely that there will be staff reductions and payroll may be at risk,” he said. The layoffs at the online retailer, which sells everything from fashion and beauty products to food and electronics, could affect more than 1,000 employees. Rivals on the continent are also struggling: A plan to rescue Nigeria-founded pan-African e-commerce giant Jumia has led to improved sales, but the company still reported a loss in its latest quarter. [TechCabal, TechCrunch]
🇿🇦 The parent company of South African e-retailer Takealot has appointed a new CEO. Cape Town-based Naspers and its Amsterdam-listed international investment arm Prosus have appointed Fabricio Broisi as chief executive officer of Prosus and Naspers Group from July. Broisi, a Brazilian entrepreneur and founder of Prosus-owned Brazil-based Mobil and former CEO of Latin American food delivery company iFood, replaces Elvin Tu, who served as interim chief executive officer of the group after Bob van Dijk's departure last year. Prosus owns around 80 assets in 100 markets and is the largest single investor in Tencent, the Chinese group behind super-app WeChat. Internet giant Naspers owns South African companies including multi-category e-commerce giant Take-a-lot, fashion e-tailer Superbalist, PayU and Media24. [BoF Inbox, Financial Times, Reuters]
🇮🇳 Global prices for Indian synthetic diamonds plummet 45%. Overproduction was one of the reasons for the collapse in fiscal 2024. Exports also declined through April, but domestic demand is on the rise as gold prices rise. [lab-grown diamond] “The price hikes are causing severe losses for manufacturers and are not sustainable,” said Pooja Sheth Madhavan, managing director of Limelight Diamonds, a chain with 50 stores across India. [Economic Times]
🇨🇳 China's clothing and textile exports rise slightly in January-AprilThe country's textile, clothing and accessories exports increased 0.57% to $89.836 billion in the first four months of 2024. Clothing exports were flat, while textile exports increased 1.2%. [Fibre2Fashion]
🇯🇵 Rakuten has partnered with eBay to sell second-hand Japanese fashion items in the United States. The Japanese e-commerce giant and the U.S. marketplace launched their partnership on May 8 with a multi-vendor trial on Rakuten's second-hand goods sales division, Rakuma, targeting the impact of the yen hitting a 34-year low against the dollar and rising global costs of living. “When you say 'second-hand goods in Japan,' it immediately creates value. [elsewhere because]…Second-hand goods [from Japan are generally] “It's going very well,” said Rakuma general manager Kenichiro Hasegawa. [Reuters]
🇨🇳 Chinese app Kuaishou sees 28% increase in e-commerce GMV in the quarter. The Beijing-based, Hong Kong-listed short video and livestreaming platform announced annual gross merchandise volume growth of 288.1 billion yuan ($40.33 billion) in the first quarter of 2024. Its monthly active e-commerce shoppers grew 22.4% to 126 million during the same period. While rivals Douyin and Xiaohongshu have become the focus of marketing and sales activities for many international brands, Kuaishou remains popular in second-tier and lower cities. [Jing Daily, BoF]
🇮🇳 Indya and FabAlley's Indian parent company raises $6 million. High Street Essentials, which runs two women's clothing brands, has raised 500 crore rupees ($6 million) in equity and debt in a funding round led by JSW Foundation chairperson Sangeeta Jindal, with participation from SRF Group, Krishna Bodhanap of Scient Technologies and Timmy Sarna of Pure Home Living. The funds will be used to further expand India, which has collaborated with local designers such as Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna and Varun Bahl, into the market for premium occasionwear and weddingwear. [Economic Times]
🇨🇳 Dazed Media partners with Huasheng Media to launch Another Man China. The new monthly Chinese edition will feature both locally produced content and content from the UK edition. T: New York Times Style Magazine, Nylonand wallpaperhas appointed the company's founder and CEO, Feng Chuxuan, as group editor. Another Man In China, Tian Zhiwei (Nate Tian) was the editor-in-chief and Zhou Xiangyu (Xander Zhou) was the fashion director. Vaguely The magazine was previously published by Yoho, which stopped publication during the pandemic. [BoF Inbox]
🇮🇳 The parent company of Indian beauty brand Mamaearth has acquired Cosmogenesis Labs. Honasa Consumer is acquiring the Maharashtra-based research and development company that specializes in natural and organic cosmetics for an undisclosed amount. “As part of the deal, we will also be acquiring a lot of formulation expertise, R&D labs and nano manufacturing facilities,” said Varun Alag, co-founder and CEO of Honasa Consumer, adding that Cosmogenesis founder Rohini Manoj will take on the role of vice president of research and development at the company. In addition to Mama Earth, Gurugram-based Honasa currently operates brands such as The Derma Co, Bblunt, Ayuga, Aqualogica, Dr. Sheth and Stays. [Economic Times]
🇪🇬 An Egyptian supplier to a global fragrance company is implicated in child labor. Research has shown that suppliers of perfumes used by brands such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder use jasmine flowers picked by children. BBC A study following families picking jasmine in Egypt in 2023 and working in local factories that extract jasmine oil from the flowers to supply international fragrance houses such as Givaudan and Firmenich, which in turn manufacture perfumes, found that children as young as five years old worked all night picking flowers, earning just $1 a day on average. [BoF]
🇮🇳 India's Jaipur Watch Company raises more capital. The luxury watch brand, named after the Rajasthan state capital, secured 240 million rupees ($289,000) from investors including Lemon Funds' Nirav Jogani, Dev Diamonds' Jignesh Shah and Lucky Jewellery to expand its marketing efforts and retail footprint beyond its current network of five stores and three more planned this year. Founder Gaurav Mehta said the company has raised 350 million rupees so far and is in talks to raise another 550-600 million rupees. [Economic Times]
🇨🇳 Chinese perfume brand Documents closes stores again. The company confirmed that its first mono-brand store on Huaihai Middle Road in Shanghai has also closed, following the closure of its Chengdu IFS branch in December. Founded by Meng Zhaoran in 2021, Documents has secured funding in recent years from Euchopal Group, Shanghai Meiji Fang Investment (L'Oreal's China investment arm) and Cathay Consumer Co-Creation Fund (co-founded by Cathay Capital, Kering, L'Oreal and Pernod Ricard). [Jing Daily, BoF]
🇮🇳 Indian jeweller Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri reports 7.5% increase in fourth-quarter profit. The Mumbai-based gold and diamond jewelry chain, founded in 1864 and with more than 30 stores across the country, said its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 31 rose to 126.1 million rupees ($1.5 million), from 117.3 million rupees in the same period last year. [Economic Times]
🌏 Taiwanese luxury resale company PopChill secures $1.3 million investment. The additional capital brings the total funding raised in the pre-A+ funding round to $3.1 million. New investors in the round, Top Taiwan Venture Capital and Taiwan National Development Fund, join previous participants including 500 Global, Acorn Pacific, ITIC, AVA Angels Fund, Acorn Pacific Ventures and Darwin Ventures. PopChill co-founder Andy Kuo said the company will use the funds for further growth in Hong Kong and expansion into Singapore. [BoF Inbox, Retail In Asia]
🇮🇳 Profits at Indian shoe retailer Metro Brands have more than doubled. The company reported a 126.3% year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 1,555.7 million ($18.7 million) in the fourth quarter of 2024. Founded in 1955, the Delhi-based company, which currently has over 830 stores across the country, sells its own brands such as Metro Shoes, Mochi and Walkway, as well as partner brands such as Vans, Crocs, Fila and FitFlop. [Economic Times]
🇰🇪 Kenya's Vivo enters the US market through its Atlanta store. The Nairobi-based fashion brand's store was unveiled last week. Parent company Vibo Fashion Group was founded in 2011 by Wandia Gichuru and Anne Marie Bourgu and currently operates 26 stores across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, employing more than 360 people selling its namesake, Safari and Zoya brands. Last year, Gichuru raised $1 million for ShopZetu, a multi-brand e-commerce platform he co-founded. [Semafor, BoF]
🇮🇳 Pratyusha Agarwal has been named head of Indian e-retailer Flipkart's Shopsy. The former chief operating officer of edtech company Byju's has been appointed vice president and head of Shopsy, the platform that Walmart-owned Flipkart launched in 2021 as a social commerce app and has since become a low-cost e-commerce rival to Meesho and Amazon Bazaar. [Economic Times]
🇨🇳 Versace appoints Chinese singer Cai Xukun as brand ambassador. The Italian luxury brand partnered with the celebrity in China, the former face of Prada, Tug Hauer and De Beers. With more than 38 million followers on Weibo alone, Cai remains popular with some fans despite a scandal in which he was accused of forcing a former sexual partner to have an abortion, which he denies. [BoF Inbox]
🇮🇩 Indonesia's antitrust regulator investigates Singapore's Shopee and Lazada. Local authorities are investigating the Indonesian subsidiaries of two regional e-commerce giants based in Singapore – Shopee owned by Sea Limited and Lazada, owned by Alibaba – for allegedly violating competition rules. The two companies compete in the market with local e-tailers such as GoTo Group's Tokopedia and Bukalapak. [The Straits Times]
🇨🇳 Victoria's Secret has appointed Chinese actress Tian Xiwei as its ambassador. The American lingerie brand partners with stars from TV series such as “Romance on the Farm” and “A New Life Begins” to promote its products. [Jing Daily]
