Una Brands, a Singapore-based e-commerce aggregator, has raised $30 million in pre-Series C financing just five months after announcing its $30 million Series B funding that was raised in September of last year.
Northstar Group, a regional private equity firm, is the sole investor in Una Brands’ latest round, which involves a mix of equity and debt, though Una Brands declined to break out how much equity versus debt the newest round involves. It also declined to disclose its valuation when asked.
The company has now raised more than $100 million in total funding since its inception in 2021, and says it will use the new capital to continue developing its platform and buying up more direct-to-consumer brands in categories like home and living, mom and baby, and beauty and personal care.
Una Brands has differentiated itself as an Asia-focused e-commerce aggregator capable of operating brands across all channels, such as Amazon, Shopify, Shopee, Lazada and Tokopedia, compared to some of its peers, which focus on brands that sell on Amazon.
According to Kevin Boo, the company’s director of corporate development, Una Brands’ key differentiator is its diversification in geography, e-commerce channels and product categories, all of which provide the company a long-term competitive advantage and greater defensibility against any industry headwinds, he said.
Boo added that due to the macroeconomic environment, the company is also focused on profitability, telling TechCrunch that Una Brands was on a $70 million revenue run rate for the latest fiscal year and that it expects to achieve EBITDA profitability this year. (The startup said in September it had annualized revenue of more than $50 million.)
The company, which employs more than 200 people across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, India and China, has acquired over 20 e-commerce brands in Asia. Its flagship brands, Singaporean furniture brands ErgoTune and EverDesk+, are now in Asia and recently expanded into the U.S. The company also has the Australian “unbreakable” drinkware startup Bellaforte in its portfolio.
In a statement, Una Brands praised its newest investor, saying: “We believe [Northstar’s] deep knowledge of the Southeast Asian markets and strong e-commerce experience will be very valuable to Una Brands as we look to double down our operations across the region.”
Some of Una Brands’ earlier investors include Alpha JWC Ventures, White Star Capital, 468 Capital, 500 Global, Claret Capital Partners, Global Founders Capital and Kingsway Capital.
Source @TechCrunch
