VCs bet big on APAC e-tailers, GlobalData

Venture capitalists are looking to capitalise on the growing demand for online retailing, especially in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, according to GlobalData. The data and analytics company attributes this to the increasing use of smartphones coupled with growing internet penetration.

Its latest report, 'Smart Money Investing in the Retail Industry in Q4 2017', states that, despite a 4% drop in the share of VC funding deals from 49% in Q3 2017, the APAC region still accounted for $420.9 million of the total investments ($937.3 million) across the globe during the reporting period. Vijay Varma, Retail Market Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “This is being utilised by online retailers to broaden their reach and introduce new product categories along with expanding their reach into other countries.” For instance, Pomelo Fashion, an online apparel retailer based in Thailand, secured $19 million in Series B round of funding led by JD.com.

In APAC, the majority of cash is focused on the food and grocery sector, in line with growing consumer preference for packaged foods along with increasing demand for organic/natural products. For instance, Prompt Care (UrFresh), a Chinese fresh produce e-commerce company that delivers fresh produce items in an hour, secured $15 million in Series B+ funding led by Haier Capital.