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Tag: koala

  • Why mattress disruptor Koala is getting in bed with homewares

    Why mattress disruptor Koala is getting in bed with homewares

    After success with both its mattress and furniture ranges, Australian company Koala is now moving into homewares.

    Koala decided to add décor to its product staple to encourage consumers to consider more sustainable options. The homewares collection features 34 pieces, including cushions, throws and the first wool rug range in Australia to use certified responsible wool.

    Other sustainable materials used in the new products are 100 per cent organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles.

    These designs are all inspired by Australia’s flora and fauna, art, culture or lifestyle and designed in-house. This means the pieces feature neutral colours and earthy tones, as well as nature-inspired textures and patterns.

    Koala said years of research has gone into creating the range, which has been designed to stand the test of time.

    The homewares are also built to withstand our hectic and messy lives with the throws and cushions machine washable and the rugs easy to clean.

    “With homewares, we want to celebrate Koala’s uniqueness whilst doing something meaningful and timeless for the brand. We’ve created a real sense of something special you can’t get anywhere else, with all colours and material finishes inspired by the Australian landscape, from outback red dirt to beautiful coral reefs,” Alexandra Owen, Koala design director said.

    You can feel good about supporting the environment while refreshing your home with this rug. It is made from 100 per cent recycled bottles and is super soft to the touch. There are two sizes and four colours available, with each colour inspired by Australia’s native foliage.

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  • Alibaba confirms purchase of Kaola business

    Alibaba confirms purchase of Kaola business

    Alibaba has confirmed it will buy NetEase’s Kaola for about US$2 billion, a deal widely predicted last month.

    Kaola is an import e-commerce platform which has been a rival of Alibaba for some time. Both companies have their roots in Hangzhou.

    Confirming the deal, Alibaba says it plans for Kaola to continue to operate independently under its current brand. Tmall import and export GM Alvin Liu will serve as Kaola’s new CEO.

    “We are pleased to have found a strategic fit for Kaola within Alibaba’s extensive ecosystem, where Kaola will continue to provide Chinese consumers with high-quality import products and services,” said William Ding, CEO of NetEase.

    “At the same time, the completion of this strategic transaction will allow NetEase to focus on its growth strategy, investing in markets that allow us to best leverage our competitive advantages. We remain fully committed to offering our users best-in-class and differentiated online content born from our relentless drive for craftsmanship and innovation.”

    As well as the sale of Kaola, Alibaba, together with Yunfeng, will invest some $700 million in NetEase Cloud Music. The completion of this transaction is subject to certain closing conditions. NetEase will remain the controlling shareholder of NetEase Cloud Music following the closing of this transaction.

    “As the controlling shareholder of NetEase Cloud Music, we will continue to fully support the growth of this business, helping it to realise its strategic goals in the music industry,” said Ding.

    Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said his company is confident about the future of China’s import e-commerce market, which it considers remains in its infancy and has great growth potential.

    “We welcome Kaola to the Alibaba family and value NetEase’s contributions in incubating an e-commerce platform with strong import capabilities. With Kaola, we will further elevate import service and experience for Chinese consumers through synergies across the Alibaba ecosystem,” said Zhang.

    “Alibaba also looks forward to becoming a partner in the future development of NetEase Cloud Music and exploring innovative collaboration in the digital entertainment space.”

  • Mattress retailer launches in Japan

    Mattress retailer launches in Japan

    Online-only mattress company, Koala, is making headway in Asia, with the company recently launching in Japan.

    This brings Koala’s global footprint up to three international markets, following the company’s launch in Hong Kong in February and New Zealand last year.

    Operations in Japan have been “up-and-running” for at least two weeks, according to Koala’s head of communications, Matthew Overington.

    “We launched the website, we’re making sales and fulfilling orders. The response has been positive so far,” he told.

    Overington said the Japanese site has almost the same volume of traffic – but not sales – as Koala’s other markets, including Australia.

    “It’s early days, so we’re ramping up,” he said.

    The company, which is led by a local country manager, currently offers next-day delivery to customers across Japan and is actively working to make faster delivery possible.

    Koala’s signature four-hour delivery service will likely launch in Tokyo to start, with expansion into other major cities later this year, according to Overington.

    The move was funded by a recent $10 million investment from Silicon Valley-based debt financier Partners for Growth.

    This marks the first outside investment in Koala, since Australia cricket captain Steve Smith provided an undisclosed amount of seed money in 2015.

    Besides growing the business in Japan, Koala plans to use the $10 million Series A funding round to enter new markets and expand the range of products it offers beyond mattresses and pillows, to include linens and furniture, such as bed bases.

    “Basically we’re looking for the next stage of growth for the business,” Overington said of the investment.

    “We solicit funding to accomplish the next round of business goals and it’s tested against our performance and vision for the future…[Funding] is off the back of strong confidence that we’re on the right track.”

    This is largely thanks to Koala’s data- and research-driven approach, according to Overington. For instance, the company didn’t just take the same mattress it sells in Australia to the Japanese market. It designed a new, slightly firmer mattress specifically to appeal to Japanese consumers’ sleep preferences.

    “Everything we do is research-led. We think very carefully about the nuances of each market,” he said.

    Some nuances, however, are hard to predict. Overington noted that consumers in Japan have made far fewer customer service calls than consumers in Australia did at launch.

    Perhaps it’s a cultural difference, or representative of the fact that we have all the information they’re looking for on the site,” he suggested.