JD.com-backed Pomelo launches branding platform for fashion brands

Pomelo, a fashion ecommerce startup backed by China’s JD.com, announced the launch of Prism, its business-to-business branding platform. This comes as the Bangkok-based company looks to expand its services ahead of a potential public listing in Thailand.

Photo credit: Pomelo

Prism offers demand planning and logistics for fashion and lifestyle brands. Its services include designing, manufacturing, fabric sourcing, merchandising, and trading. Companies will also gain access to Pomelo’s marketing tools, data analytics and insights, and tech operations via the new platform.

In a bid to fuel growth, Pomelo is considering different options for fundraising, including a public listing in its home turf, said co-founder David Jou.

“The pandemic has had seismic impacts on the industry. Our goal with Prism is to turn this crisis into an opportunity. By providing this end-to-end service, we want to help brands scale with us and contribute to the growth of the fashion industry across Southeast Asia,” Jou added.

Prism is currently working with four firms, including Urban Revivo and Levi’s. Pomelo aims to onboard over 1,000 companies on its platform over the next 12 months. It is also targeting a double-digit percentage revenue contribution from the new service in the first 12 months to 18 months.

The development comes amid a dip in sales a physical stores due to pandemic-induced lockdowns. In an interview with Reuters, Jou said that store traffic in Thailand plunged by 71% in the first quarter of this year and fell around 20% in the other markets that Pomelo operates in.

In addition to launching a branding service, Pomelo plans to let customers try on clothes at home in partnership with ride-hailing firm Grab.

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Pomelo said it has grown its retail business by 30% over the past year and opened two new locations in Singapore and two more in Indonesia. It now has a total of 26 stores across Southeast Asia.

The company is also set to launch its first physical store in Malaysia and two additional stores in Thailand: one in Chiang Mai and the other in Rayong.

Ariya Banomyong, a former executive at Line Thailand and Google, will serve on the Pomelo board and oversee its business strategy and help drive the firm into its next phase of growth.