Thai fashion firm Pomelo hit 34% revenue jump in 2022, trimmed losses

Photo credit: Pomelo

Fashion ecommerce firm Pomelo Fashion posted a 34% year-on-year revenue jump for 2022, according to its financial statements obtained from Alternatives.pe, which tracks regulatory filings in Singapore.

The Thailand-based firm’s revenue amounted to US$38 million, while its losses narrowed by 5% to US$31.9 million in 2022.

Such results indicate that the company remained strong even as offline activities were gradually resuming at the time – and that Pomelo had been able to stand toe to toe with the likes of Shein.

Despite the revenue boost and reduced losses, Pomelo’s total expenses rose 13% to US$70.5 million in the period. Most of these expenses were contributed by inventories, employee benefits, and marketing costs.

Without going into specifics, CEO and co-founder David Jou told Tech in Asia that Pomelo made “significant bottom-line improvements” in 2023 while narrowing its losses by over 65%.

In 2022, Pomelo laid off 55 of its staff – or around 8% of its headcount – in an effort to get the company on track for “more sustainable growth.”

Market-wise, around 80% of Pomelo’s revenue in 2022 came from its core market of Thailand. Sales in the country had a 61% increase compared to the previous year.

However, a different situation was found in its other markets. In Singapore, the company’s revenue barely increased – from US$3.7 million to US$3.8 million. There were also declines in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the company managed to reduce cash used in operating activities by 26% in the period.

Pomelo was reportedly eyeing an IPO in 2022, but the plan has yet to materialize. Founded in 2013, the firm has raised a total of US$125 million in disclosed funding, according to the Tech in Asia database.

See also: Castlery reaps fruits of US gambit in FY 23 as revenue grows 63%