Zilingo raises US$8mil in Series A Funding

By Chong Jinn Xiung September 6, 2016

Zilingo has raised funding totalling US$10 million with the latest round
Aggressively sets sight on gaining market share in Singapore, Thailand

Zilingo raises US$8mil in Series A Funding

Bangkok-based online fashion marketplace Zilingo announced that it successfully secured a US$8 million (RM32.7 million) Series A round that was led by Venturra Capital,Sequoia India and Susquehanna International Group.

Other participants in this funding round included Wavemaker Partners, Beenext, Beenos and Digital Garage.

The company had previously raised US$2 million from Beenext, Sequoia and Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon of Freecharge last year.

Founded in May 2015, the young startup aims to tap into South-East Asia’s (SEA) fashion and beauty market that it says is worth over US$20 billion.

According to Zilingo, this latest round of funding was put together to aggressively gain market share in Singapore and Thailand as well as to expand to Indonesia.

“We are looking to build the next generation fashion marketplace with features that no one has quite explored,” said its co-founder and chief executive officer Ankiti Bose in a phone interview with DNA.

“Developing features like artificial intelligence, augmented reality and engaging customers with video content also requires significant human and financial capital,” she said of the group’s efforts to gain customers.

Zilingo differentiates itself from other fashion e-commerce players in that it serves as a platform for its 2,000 sellers, consisting of small fashion brands and enterprises, and connects them with its over half a million active users.

The company charges its sellers a 10%-20% commission on the product price for each successful transaction on its platform.

In a statement, Zilingo said it has been successful in making its operation profitable and is said to have grown 30% month-on-month. Zilingo is on the lookout for more partnerships and innovations that would allow it to improve its business.

Recent news of Rocket Internet’s sale of its loss-making fashion e-commerce site Zalora in Thailand and Vietnam may be a concern for the online fashion market in SEA but Zilingo remains bullish.

“We are positive that the fashion and lifestyle market is booming and not only has a lot of scope for topline growth, but also sustainable revenues and profitability,” said Ankiti.

“We have always shied away from growing through discounting from our own P&L and prioritised quality customers.This places us in a unique position, because while a lot of our competitors have burnt through a lot of cash to grow fast, we are well-poised to keep growing towards a steady future,” she added.

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