Pomelo, an Asean fashion e-commerce startup, is seeking funding through either a Series D round or listing on the stock exchange to propel its business, with a plan to spend 1 billion baht to expand over the next few years.
David Jou, the company's co-founder and chief executive, said such spending is mainly for digital marketing and content, with an aim to recruit new target audiences in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
According to Mr Jou, the investment will also be used to establish localised strategies and teams as well as set up automated and scalable content creation tools.
In addition, some budget will be allocated to double Pomelo store locations to 54 in the next couple of years, he said.
According to a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, Southeast Asia's digital economy is expected to be worth US$1 trillion by 2030, with the clothing, footwear and accessories category showing the highest growth potential of 3.1 times.
Furthermore, Southeast Asia is home to 350 million online shoppers. With this in mind, Pomelo recognises the opportunity and plans to increase the number of brands on the Pomelo platform from 500 to over 2,000, with a greater assortment of products.
Established in 2013, Pomelo operates 27 shops in Southeast Asia, comprising 21 in Thailand, three in Singapore, two in Indonesia and one in Malaysia.
As a platform, Pomelo has more than 500 brands from international labels, local designers, and smaller Instagram brands.
In addition, the company is delivering on its mission to bring the world's biggest and most relevant brands to its community with Adidas, Maybelline, Cotton On and Urban Revivo joining the platform via stores, online and through its "Tap. Try. Buy" service, said Mr Jou.
"For the past nine years, we have been empowering women everywhere to look and feel their best in quality, stylish and affordable fashion through our cutting-edge technology and innovation," he said.
"Our investment for 2022 and beyond will enable us to further our efforts to strengthen our core businesses and empower the overall fashion tech industry in Southeast Asia."
Pomelo targets sales growth of 260% in the near future via new store openings, ramping up its platform and extending the number of brands from fashion to lifestyle categories in the next few years, said Mr Jou.
