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Category: Startups

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Startup news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Singapore Fintech Ditches Plans for Digital Bank License

    Singapore Fintech Ditches Plans for Digital Bank License

    Singapore cross-border startup InstaReM has withdrawn from the contest for a digital wholesale banking license, preferring to focus on its global business-to-business payments instead. It is the first firm to declare its withdrawal.

    InstaReM, which recently rebranded to Nium, has backed down from its application for a digital wholesale license because the banking landscape in the city-state looks rather crowded.

    Singaporean banks are extremely well entrenched in that ecosystem. Our strengths lie elsewhere and we have decided to consolidate and focus on those areas,» said Nium’s chief executive Prajit Nanu, who was quoted in «The Business Times.»

    Nanu said his company will focus on serving businesses in more than 40 markets. It holds regulatory licenses including in the European Union, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Japan and is seeking new electronic money institution licenses for card issuing and stored value facilities in Mexico and Brazil. With $41 million raised earlier this year, it is one of the best-funded fintech startups in South-east Asia.

    Backed by investors including Temasek Holdings unit Vertex Ventures and Rocket Internet, Nium previously said it was interested in the digital bank license offered. Other companies that expressed a desire to apply included SingTel, Grab and Razer.

  • Foodpanda Singapore expands into grocery delivery

    Foodpanda Singapore expands into grocery delivery

    Food delivery service Foodpanda is to expand into other services, including groceries, household essentials and flowers.

    The company will offer delivery service for items from more than 1000 retail partners in Singapore, including Caltex Star Mart, Eu Yan Sang, Hao Mart and Mothercare, with the guarantee of 25-minute delivery time.

    “Over the past year, from the feedback we’ve received from our customers, it was clear that they wanted to enjoy even more convenience in their everyday lives,” said Luc Andreani, MD of Foodpanda Singapore. “This new expansion is a natural extension of our goal to deliver services that bring even more convenience and experiences to Singaporeans’ everyday lives.”

    In the last three month, Foodpanda has recruited 100 engineers to manage the new platform and aims to hire up to 300 by the end of the year.

    Foodpanda has a network of more than 8000 delivery riders and more than 7000 restaurant partners in the city.

  • A-listers sign up to Hong Kong VR startup Sandbox

    A-listers sign up to Hong Kong VR startup Sandbox

    Hong Kong immersive Virtual Reality startup Sandbox VR has won investment from several A-list celebrities, including Katy Perry and Will Smith.

    The firm has raised US$11 million from the Hollywood names, together with venture capital firm Craft Venture, to put towards its cable-free escape room VR experience that features full-body motion capture technology. Players in the VR rooms can battle aliens or submerge themselves in a pirate experience.

    The virtual reality market has developed slowly since hyped predictions made five years ago fell flat in the face of slow consumer pick-up of the technology. In an interview, Sandbox founder Steve Zhao blames the lackluster consumer response on a clunky user experience that fails to let the user see her own body or move freely.

    “When I looked into the consumer VR headset, I tried it and I was sitting down and was tethered to a computer, and I’m holding two controllers,” said Zhao. “No, this is not VR!”

    Sandbox launched its first store in the US last year and plans to roll out 16 locations by the end of next year, having partnered with mall operators such as Westfield. The Hillsdale Shopping Center location experiences 90-per-cent occupancy during peak hours, prompting the firm to expand its lease.

    “We found out that over 80 percent of our customers had never visited the mall in the past year, and for 60 percent of them it was their first visit to Hillsdale Shopping Centre,” Zhao said. “They came because of Sandbox, and I think the landlords are incredibly excited about that.”

    Zhao said the firm will certainly look to expand in Asia, with China and Japan presenting compelling opportunities.

    “We believe that VR is finally ready to take off as a mass-market phenomenon in malls, where it can be optimized for a social experience,” said Craft Ventures co-founder and general partner David Sacks. “We chose the Sandbox team because of their background in game design. Their VR experiences have a level of interactivity – with both the VR world and other players – that we couldn’t find elsewhere. We believe that Sandbox VR is poised to become the first VR experience for millions of consumers around the world.”

    Sandbox’s Hollywood investors are expected to open doors to future potential collaborations that could lead to movie-themed experiences – a Star Trek project is already underway following a deal with CBS, and should be released later this year.

    “Their support is a vote of confidence that our platform will o

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  • Ride-Hailing Service Gojek’s CEO Nadiem Makarim To Join Indonesia’s Cabinet

    Ride-Hailing Service Gojek’s CEO Nadiem Makarim To Join Indonesia’s Cabinet

    Gojek CEO and founder Nadiem Makarim said on Monday he had resigned from the ride-hailing and payments company to join the cabinet of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

    “I have received a big honor to be able to join the cabinet,” Makarim told reporters at the presidential palace.

    Makarim said his specific role would be announced by the president later in the week.

    Indonesia media have linked Makarim to a possible post in a new Digital Economy ministry or in education.

    Gojek did not immediately respond to requests for comment on who his successor would be.

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  • Eatigo Hong Kong aims to double its reach within the next year

    Eatigo Hong Kong aims to double its reach within the next year

    Restaurant table-filler app Eatigo is set to double the user numbers and outlets it represents over the next year.

    The restaurant reservation platform helps restaurants fill up empty tables by offering discounts to diners at different times of the day through its mobile app.

    Eatigo operates in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. In Hong Kong it already has more than 1 million users and represents more than 1000 restaurants.

    “We’re trying to drive sustainable traffic to restaurants outside lunch and dinner time by introducing different pricing so we can influence customer behavior, something that’s already common in the airline industry,” said Eatigo Hong Kong’s GM Kenneth Liu in an interview with HKTDC publication Hong Kong Means Business.

    “On the supply side, we’re trying to get more interesting selections and make it more local, reaching out to the New Territories, Tung Chung and Lantau Island. Even if a customer has a low budget of less than HK$100, we want to offer them something. Our aim is to make Eatigo a frequency app, something that can be used at McDonald’s, Subway, or in local cha chaan tengs [Hong Kong-style cafes]. We want to become more local, more mass market.”

    Liu added that the firm plans to add more interesting merchants to their portfolio in the coming year and reach 2 million users by December next year. The firm plans to engage in more creative marketing, potentially using offline roadshows and press conferences to promote the brand. It plans to add more quick-service restaurants and high-end or Michelin-starred restaurants to its platform.

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  • Grab tests new bus booking service in Vietnam

    Grab tests new bus booking service in Vietnam

    A new service, now available on Grab’s app, allows customers to look at schedules and book tickets from the ride-hailing giant’s partner bus operators.

    Grab has begun testing the bus-booking feature for customers traveling between Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat airport and Vung Tau Town in southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province starting Monday, the company said in a release.

    The route is currently operated by local firm Avigo, Grab’s partner bus operator, which runs 24 trips a day. By the end of this year, Grab will test out one more route between District 7 and District 1 in HCMC, operated by local partner City View Bus at a frequency of 44 trips per day.

    Grab’s Bus feature will help customers find buses and routes that best suit their schedule, book tickets in advance, track the bus in real-time and know when it is arriving. Customers will be able to make cashless payments through the Moca e-wallet function on the Grab app, with an international debit card, or by QR code, Grab said.

    The Bus feature will allow Grab’s transportation partners to access Grab’s vast user base, boost operational efficiency and business growth through the use of the company’s technological platform, the company said.

    Grab began testing the Bus feature in the Philippines two weeks ago, allowing customers to book tickets for two routes from Makati City, the country’s financial hub, to a nearby city.

    Grab, with its app on more than 160 million mobile devices across eight countries, entered Vietnam in 2014 and now offers a wide range of services from taxi and motorbike hailing to food delivery, online payment, express delivery, and hotel booking.

    In late August, the Singapore-based tech firm announced in a statement it will invest some $500 million in Vietnam in the next five years to expand its transport, food and payment networks.

    The money would also be used to develop fintech, mobility solutions and logistics to spur the country’s digital economy, Grab said.

    Vietnam’s ride-hailing and food delivery market is expected to top $1 billion this year and $4 billion in 2025, according to a recent report by Google, Singaporean investment firm Temasek and U.S. consultancy Bain.

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  • Grab launches first shared kitchen in Vietnam

    Grab launches first shared kitchen in Vietnam

    Grab launched a shared kitchen in Vietnam on Tuesday to cater to the growing demand for food delivery.

    It is in Thu Duc District, Saigon, and 12 restaurants make food exclusively for GrabFood drivers to pick up and deliver to customers.

    Grab has given each of them space to cook for free though they have to pay utility bills, and get a commission on the orders.

    Vietnam is the second place where it has launched GrabKitchen after Indonesia, and there is great potential for this model in the country, Jerry Lim, CEO of Grab Vietnam, said in a statement.

    Thu Duc was chosen because of its young demographic comprising students and workers who want to order from their favorite restaurants which are located too far away, he said.

    More such kitchens would be opened in the city this year and the model would be expanded to Hanoi and Da Nang next year, Lim added.

    Shared kitchens have become popular in Asian countries such as China, Japan and India in recent years as restaurants can focus completely on the food and do not need to find, rent and manage a shop.

    Between January and June this year the number of GrabFood transactions quadrupled to an average of 300,000 orders a day.

    Competitors for GrabFood in Vietnam now are Foody’s Now, Go-Viet’s GoFood and South Korean-owned Baemin.

    Vietnam’s ride-hailing and food delivery market is expected to top $1 billion this year and $4 billion in 2025, according to a recent report by Google, Singaporean investment firm Temasek and U.S. consultancy Bain.

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  • Electric Scooter Startup Bird Raises $275 Million In Latest Funding Round

    Electric Scooter Startup Bird Raises $275 Million In Latest Funding Round

    Bird, an electric scooter rental company, said on Thursday it had raised $275 million in a funding round led by Canadian pension fund CDPQ and Sequoia Capital, as it looks to take a bigger share of a rapidly growing transportation sector.

    The deal values the firm at $2.5 billion before the investment, Chief Executive Officer Travis VanderZanden told a tech conference in San Francisco.

    VanderZanden said Bird has been working hard to improve its financials, deflecting criticism that the company has been chasing growth at all costs.

    The company has designed its own rugged scooters, which last about 15 months on average, compared with the three-month life span it got from retail scooters, he said.

    Bird, known for its dockless scooters that riders can locate and unlock through a smartphone app, has enjoyed a stratospheric rise, while also causing mayhem in cities such as San Diego and San Francisco.

    It has raised the ire of regulators and residents because the scooters, which can be left anywhere, have littered sidewalks and parks and blocked driveways and doorways. Scooter riders on crowded sidewalks have also caused problems.

    A dozen electric scooter companies have received more than $1.5 billion in investments in total, according to a report issued earlier this year by Boston Consulting Group.

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  • Cosmetics startup La Bouche Rouge makes Hong Kong its trial market

    Cosmetics startup La Bouche Rouge makes Hong Kong its trial market

    French cosmetics startup La Bouche Rouge has chosen Hong Kong as its first Asian market ahead of a regional rollout.

    Founder Nicolas Gerlier introduced the firm’s eco-friendly lipstick line in an interview with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

    The concept of the brand came about when Gerlier realized that up to 1 billion used lipstick tubes are thrown away every year, contributing to plastic pollution.

    “I believe that it is impossible to create a new beauty house today without thinking of the environment, without giving meaning, without becoming part of a socially responsible project,” said Gerlier. The idea developed in his mind “until the day I decided to launch my own model”.

    Gerlier was inspired to develop an eco-friendly brand based on his work under Ezra Petronio at L’Oreal Luxe, who is now the firm’s co-founder and creative director.

    La Bouche Rouge lines include the Metiers d’Art Collection – personalizable artisan-crafted lipstick cases – and products in leather pouches which customers refill by purchasing more lipstick at the outlet or online. There is no need to discard cases.

    “At La Bouche Rouge we talk about being ‘beautifully sustainable’,” said Gerlier. “We believe in creating the desire to consume differently and we are convinced that this is achievable through designing beautiful and easy objects. There should not be any compromise between sexiness and sustainability.”

    The firm also has a line of vegan products, which do not use beeswax or any other animal-derived material, soon to be made available in Hong Kong.

    Gerlier says Hong Kong was a natural choice when La Bouche Rouge decided to expand beyond Europe and the US. “Hong Kong is a living and dynamic economy, with the whole aura of Asia in its globality,” Gerlier said. “I am convinced that sustainability combined with luxury in makeup is our future and we are very proud to be launching so far from France just a year and a half after our launch.”

    At present, La Bouche Rouge sells at Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, its first Asian outlet. The firm plans to develop other points of sale in Hong Kong as well as in Japan and Korea.

    With its strong international connections and large French community, La Bouche Rouge finds Hong Kong a good base for its move into Asia. “Our team here is made up of French people who have lived in Hong Kong for a long time. The cosmopolitan city lets us connect with a lot of different nationalities and customers.”

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  • AIA Group Joins Big Boys to Fuel Gojek

    AIA Group Joins Big Boys to Fuel Gojek

    AIA Group joins a club of high-profile investors to participate in the ride-hailing and payments company’s latest funding round.

    The Indonesian unit of AIA Group, AIA Financial, has invested in Indonesia’s Gojek as part of the latter’s Series F fundraising round. There was no mention of how much money AIA was investing in Gojek or how big a stake it would acquire.

    AIA Financial will work with Gojek to provide life and health insurance services and wellness propositions to its users, drivers, and merchants across Indonesia, the insurer said in a statement on Wednesday.

    According to Crunchbase, Gojek has raised a total of $3.1 billion in funding over 12 rounds. High profile investors in the company include Tencent Holdings and Temasek Holdings.

    Launched in 2011, Gojek has evolved from ride-sharing to allowing its customers to make online payments and order everything from food to groceries and massage services.

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  • Grab Seeks to Merge Digital Payment Firms in Indonesia

    Grab Seeks to Merge Digital Payment Firms in Indonesia

    Grab is looking to gain pole position in Indonesia’s budding digital payment market, reportedly exploring a merger between two major players – a local entity it owns and another one backed by China’s Ant Financial.

    A merger between Grab-backed ONO and Ant-backed DANA would give the ride hailer app an edge over its major Indonesia competitor Gojek, which has been vying for the top spot in digital payments with ONO since 2018.

    The deal would also result in Grab acquiring a majority interest in DANA from Indonesian media conglomerate Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek).

    It’s part of the Grab-Gojek battle, one of the sources said.

    According to the report, SoftBank, Grab’s largest shareholder, supports the proposal with the plan having already been discussed in July during a meeting in Jakarta between SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and top Indonesian officials.

    Son is in favor, another source said, adding that negotiation on deal structure with the Indonesian central bank will also be required due to foreign ownership restrictions.

  • Deliveroo Announces First Rider Awards to Acknowledge the Incredible Work of Riders in Hong Kong

    Deliveroo Announces First Rider Awards to Acknowledge the Incredible Work of Riders in Hong Kong

    Deliveroo today hosted Hong Kong’s first Deliveroo Rider Awards, a new program to recognize the hard work of riders across Hong Kong, and to instill a sense of pride to the riders who make the biggest difference for customers, partner restaurants and the Hong Kong community.

    Restaurants and riders are invited to nominate and vote on the Deliveroo riders they feel go above and beyond to deliver great service. The winners are awarded a certificate, a medal, a polo shirt, a sports waist bag sponsored by Shell and vouchers from Pizza Express and Golden Prince Thai Restaurant during the Rider Awards ceremony today. The criteria for nominations include maintaining a positive attitude in all forms of interactions and upholding road safety guidelines. Riders are at the heart of Deliveroo’s mission in Hong Kong to bring the best selection of local restaurants direct to people’s doors. New technology and functionality from Deliveroo are further supporting riders to deliver the best service to customers.

    Brian Lo, General Manager of Deliveroo Hong Kong and Taiwan, said, “Deliveroo puts enormous value on our team of self-employed riders, who ensure that Deliveroo can bring fantastic meals from a huge variety of restaurants to people across Hong Kong with speed and efficiency. They are critical to our success and in the ecosystem. Congratulations to all of our riders recognized in the Deliveroo Riders Awards and we look forward to more opportunities to publicly acknowledge and encourage the fantastic work of the team!”

    Roy Ng, Director of Golden Prince Thai Restaurant, said, “It is inspiring to see how Deliveroo is setting the standards for the food industry and honouring the riders who consistently perform to the best of their abilities — no matter the condition. We highly value and appreciate the hard work of all the riders. We deliberately chose convenient locations for our restaurant where the riders are able to pick up the food without any hassle. When we see riders arriving at our restaurants with big smiles on their faces, it cements the confidence we have in Deliveroo being able to always safely deliver our food to the customers. Well done to all the riders! Hopefully our vouchers can serve as some encouragement for them.”

    One rider recognised in the Deliveroo Rider Awards is Mr. Lam, who commented, “It is such an honour to be nominated and win at the Deliveroo Rider Awards. Being a rider is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy flexible, well-paid work and bring delicious meals to the Hong Kong

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  • Amazon In Talks For Stake In Indonesia’s Ride-Hailing Startup Go-Jek

    Amazon In Talks For Stake In Indonesia’s Ride-Hailing Startup Go-Jek

    Amazon.com Inc is in early talks with Go-Jek Group to buy a stake in the Indonesian ride-hailing startup, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

    Details of the stake were not known and the source did not want to be identified as the talks are private.

    Both Amazon and Go-Jek did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

    Indonesia’s first unicorn, Go-Jek, has up to 20 services and has evolved from ride-sharing to allowing its customers to make online payments and order everything from food to groceries.

    Earlier this year, Amazon also bought a stake in British online food delivery company Deliveroo as it competes with Uber Technologies Inc’s Uber Eats in the global race to dominate the market for takeaway meals.

    Reuters reported in July that Amazon is expanding its transportation prowess to do virtually everything short of building a car.

    Go-Jek, which counts Alphabet Inc’s, Alibaba Group Holdings Inc, Tencent Holdings and Visa Inc (V.N) as investors, last raised here funding in July at a valuation of around $10 billion.

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  • Online fashion-tech startup Salt Attire launches its offline retail experience

    Online fashion-tech startup Salt Attire launches its offline retail experience

    Online fashion tech startup for women’s workwear Salt Attire has launched its first offline experience store in Gurgaon.

    Located at Galleria Market in Gurgaon, the store will feature premium collections of workwear apparel, jewellery and accessories.

    Apart from ready-to-pick garments, Salt Attire offers bespoke clothing, tailored to customer measurements, based on an on-demand manufacturing model at no additional cost. The store helps customers tailor the items to their body measurements and get hands-on help and guidance to attain the perfect fit.

    After realising the gap in India when it comes to high-quality formals, business casuals and workwear for women, and understanding that the demand for such clothing is only going to increase as more women are entering the workforce, founder Dipti Tolani conceptualised a one-stop store for 9 am–9 pm clothing needs, where any piece of clothing that selected could be worn both to work and after.

    “The store has been a need at multiple levels,” said Tolani. “Firstly, we had a lot of requests to come and visit us in person and inquiries for a store visit. Until now, we had been hosting some of our existing customers in our office itself. Customers now have a lot more freedom to customise as per their preferences in-store; styles, fabric, etc,” she said.

    “Also, given our price points, which are relatively in the premium range compared to the other fast fashion e-commerce websites, the offline, in-store experience is a better offering for customers who want to touch-feel the fabric and try on the garments first.”

    The growth trajectory of the company is not limited to apparel but also involves finely crafted minimalistic jewelry suited to the working professional. By next month, the brand will also launch a formal handbags category.

    Planning to launch multiple offline stores in major cities by next year, the firm aims to offer other verticals as well to capture a larger section of urban consumers.

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  • Salt Attire Startup launches its offline retail experience

    Salt Attire Startup launches its offline retail experience

    Online fashion tech startup for women’s workwear Salt Attire has launched its first offline experience store in Gurgaon.

    Located at Galleria Market in Gurgaon, the store will feature premium collections of workwear apparel, jewellery and accessories.

    Apart from ready-to-pick garments, Salt Attire offers bespoke clothing, tailored to customer measurements, based on an on-demand manufacturing model at no additional cost. The store helps customers tailor the items to their body measurements and get hands-on help and guidance to attain the perfect fit.

    After realising the gap in India when it comes to high-quality formals, business casuals and workwear for women, and understanding that the demand for such clothing is only going to increase as more women are entering the workforce, founder Dipti Tolani conceptualised a one-stop store for 9 am–9 pm clothing needs, where any piece of clothing that selected could be worn both to work and after.

    “The store has been a need at multiple levels,” said Tolani. “Firstly, we had a lot of requests to come and visit us in person and inquiries for a store visit. Until now, we had been hosting some of our existing customers in our office itself. Customers now have a lot more freedom to customise as per their preferences in-store; styles, fabric, etc,” she said.

    “Also, given our price points, which are relatively in the premium range compared to the other fast fashion e-commerce websites, the offline, in-store experience is a better offering for customers who want to touch-feel the fabric and try on the garments first.”

    The growth trajectory of the company is not limited to apparel but also involves finely crafted minimalistic jewelry suited to the working professional. By next month, the brand will also launch a formal handbags category.

    Planning to launch multiple offline stores in major cities by next year, the firm aims to offer other verticals as well to capture a larger section of urban consumers.

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