Thailand-based online fashion retailer Pomelo has attracted $52m in a series C round backed by real estate and retail conglomerate Central Group, e27 reported yesterday.
The round included Intervest Star SEA Growth Fund, a growth-stage vehicle established by office and warehouse property developer Intervest, as well as Provident Growth, Lombard Private Equity, Ambient Sound Investments, angel investors Andre Hoffman and Toivo Annus and a vehicle called The Luxembourg Company Deverel.
Founded in 2013, Pomelo curates fashion products from designers in Asia, selling them in a number of international markets through its e-commerce platform.
Customers can choose to defer payment until they have tried on items following delivery, and Pomelo also runs physical outlets in Thailand and Singapore.
Pomelo’s immediate objectives include honing its pricing and design strategy by leveraging big data and artificial intelligence-driven insights, enhancing its existing automated supply chain platform and introducing new technology-driven services for customers.
The company raised $19m in a 2017 series B round featuring Central Group, Provident Growth, Lombard Investments and e-commerce firms JD.com and StartToday, the latter through corporate venturing unit StartToday Ventures.
Jungle Ventures led Pomelo’s $11m series A round in 2016, investing alongside 500 Startups, Andre Hoffman, Jonathan Price and unnamed existing investors, after joining Fenox Ventures, 500 Startups, Tovio Annus, Queens Bridge Ventures and an unnamed New York-based hedge fund in a $1.6m pre-series A round in 2014. Its backers also include Pegasus Tech Ventures.