Germany’s Tengelmann pours $26-M into Zalora

MANILA, Philippines – German retail conglomerate Tengelmann Group is pumping €20 million (about $26 million) into online fashion and lifestyle retailer Zalora.

This comes just about 6 months after JP Morgan Asset Management invested an undisclosed amount in Zalora. 

This is the most recent funding round for the online retailer that already counts Rocket Internet, Investment AB Kinnevik, Summit Partners and other investors. Zalora has previously launched a mobile-optimized site that marked the beginning of the company’s expansion into mCommerce.

Zalora has been largely considered by the tech groups as a Southeast Asia-focused clone of Zappos, another online retailer. Zalorea currently operates across 8 countries including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Tengelmann, a German retail group with a history of investing in Rocket Internet’s projects, including Asian Amazon-clone Lazada, Berlin-based app marketing startup Trademob, and Rocket Internet’s Latin American Amazon clone Linio.

The Tengelmann Group is a well known name in the European retail industry, operating over 4,000 stores in 15 different countries, and employing more than 80,000 people.

“We are very excited to join the Zalora team,” Christian Winter, CEO of Tengelmann Ventures, said in a statement on Wednesday, March 13.

“We are confident that this is a synergistic and promising partnership given both our strengths in retail and the tremendous potential of the e-commerce market in Asia. Zalora’s success in the market, growth trajectory, management team and investor base speak volumes about how the company is fast becoming the undisputed leader for online fashion and beauty retail in many countries,” Winter added.

“Tengelmann’s long and successful experience in retailing and specifically e-commerce will prove useful for Zalora as we cement our position as an e-commerce industry leader in fashion and beauty retail,” noted Paulo Campos, Managing Director of Zalora Philippines. – Rappler.com