Malaysia's Hermo raises $2m Series A led by Gobi
Shanghai-based VC firm Gobi Partners has led a $2 million Series A round of funding for Hermo, a Malaysian cross-border cosmetics e-commerce platform.
Founded in 2012, Johor Bahru-based Hermo sells a range of Asian and Western cosmetics brands. In additional to regular priced items, the platform offers flash sales on premium cosmetics at competitive prices for a limited time and quantity. Three months ago, the company it signed an agreement to become the first full-listing e-commerce supplier for L'Oreal brands in Malaysia.
All items ordered on Hermo's platform are shipped directly out of self-established fulfillment centers. The company says it has over 150,000 monthly users, with over half of transactions completed via mobile devices. The start-up has been profitable for more than a year. Last month, it generated about MYR10 million ($2.8 million), a three-fold year-on-year increase.
Hermo received angel and seed round from Singapore-based Crystal Horse Investments and local Malaysian angel investor Tan Swee Yeong. The new funding will be used for product development, staffing, marketing and establishing regional offices outside Malaysia.
"We believe that Hermo will continue to benefit from the Korean Wave. We will work with them to establish improved supply chain relationships with suppliers and manufacturers from Korea and other major cosmetics markets," Kay-Mok Ku, a partner at Gobi Partners, said in a statement.
Gobi was established in 2002 and has raised six funds to date, investing in more than 100 companies in China and the ASEAN region. It is headquartered in Shanghai and has seven offices across China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Last month, it formed a RMB600 million ($94.1 million) fund that focuses on seed, pre-Series A and Series A investments in early-stage Chinese companies.
Two months ago, Gobi led a $5.7 million Series A round for Bangkok-based Eko Communication, developer of workplace messaging app Eko.
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