news

editor | summer

-financing news-

dtc food brand the health factory receives seed round financing

image source: brand official

recently, dtc food brand the health factory successfully raised us$3.5 million in the latest round of financing, led by peakxvpartners accelerator program surge, with participation from existing well-known investors such as kartik mehta, head of equity sales at icicl securities. this round of funds will be used to expand its product range and expand its business scale, including research and development, logistics and employee expansion.

the health factory was founded in 2018 and specializes in the production of healthy baking products. currently operating in major cities such as mumbai, pune, bangalore, delhi, chandigarh, ahmedabad, lucknow, hyderabad and chennai. (brand ark)

editor's comment:

as consumer demand for nutritious baked goods continues to grow, the health factory's sales have grown 65-fold in the past two years and it is currently working to expand its retail footprint. this financing will enable it to achieve its development goals more quickly.

apple ends investment in openai

image source: brand official

earlier, reports claimed that apple was discussing investing in openai. according to the latest news from the wall street journal citing people familiar with the matter, apple has decided to withdraw from openai’s recent financing round negotiations. currently, openai refuses to comment on the matter, and apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter. (now)

editor's comment:

although the reason why apple "backed off" at this time is still unclear. however, some analysts said that this may be related to the resignation of many key figures of openai. some people also believe that the withdrawal of investment is also related to openai's plan to "transform" into a for-profit enterprise.

dtc hair care brand seen completes us$9 million in series a financing

image source: brand official

recently, dtc hair care brand seen successfully raised us$9 million in the latest round of financing. participants in the round include danaher group co-founder mitch rales, somerville spv, permanent capital investor sator grove holdings and ulta beauty board member george mrkonic. this round of funds will be used to promote brand innovation, expand its retail business, and enhance market coverage.

founded in 2019 by harvard dermatologist dr. iris rubin, seen initially had only three core hair care products. now it has developed into a complete line of hair care and styling products, which are sold on the official website, ulta beauty, amazon, dermstore, skinstore and other platforms. (brand ark)

editor's comment:

since its launch, the seen brand has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 100% and has consistently exceeded ulta’s sales forecasts for it. from this point of view, seen has great growth potential, which may be an important reason why it can obtain financing.

-acquisition news-

l catterton to acquire majority stake in us pilates studio brand [solidcore]

image source: brand official

recently, l catterton, a private equity investment company specializing in the consumer industry under the lvmh group, announced that it has signed a final agreement to acquire an american fitness studio brand specializing in pilates from vmg partners, kohlberg & company and peterson partners. majority stake in [solidcore].

[solidcore] founded in 2013, it is a chain of fitness studio brands across the united states. it provides targeted strength training courses based on specialized fitness equipment, focusing on efficiency and effectiveness. the course duration is 50 minutes. (luxe.co)

editor's comment:

for [solidcore], this investment solidifies its position as a national authority in its field and will continue to position the business for growth in the coming years, leveraging l catterton’s fitness industry expertise and brand-building capabilities.

-brand news-

meta fined €91 million for leaking passwords of hundreds of millions of facebook users

recently, the irish data protection commission (dpc) announced a fine of 91 million euros (approximately us$101.5 million) on facebook parent company meta after a multi-year investigation into security vulnerabilities.

back in april 2019, meta reported to the dpc that "hundreds of millions" of users' passwords were stored in clear text on its servers. the dpc has since launched a statutory investigation into the matter under the eu's general data protection regulation (gdpr) and found that meta failed to take necessary measures to protect the security of user passwords. this vulnerability allowed third parties to potentially access sensitive data in social media accounts. information, increasing the risk of user data leakage. (brand ark)

editor's comment:

in fact, this fine is significantly higher than the €17 million fine imposed on meta by the dpc in march 2022 for a 2018 security breach. it has to be said that meta has been besieged by security issues.

uniqlo expands new physical store in south korea

recently, japanese fast fashion brand uniqlo is actively expanding its physical store network in south korea. its operating company in south korea, frl korea co., announced the reopening of a 1,558-square-meter store in dundun, dongdaemun shopping center, seoul. this is the first opening of the store in four years since it was closed due to the new crown epidemic in 2020.

in early september, after uniqlo opened south korea's largest offline store at lotte world mall in eastern seoul, it plans to open four more new stores before the end of the month, three of which are located in gyeonggi province around seoul and the other in the center of the south korean capital. (brand ark)

editor's comment:

against the background of continued inflation in south korea and a reduction in tourism to south korea, uniqlo is facing a major development crisis. the opening of new stores may also be to better cope with competition and continue to attract consumers, but the final results may have to be determined. wait.

luckin coffee is rumored to enter hong kong, china

image source: brand official

recently, it has been reported on social platforms that luckin coffee intends to enter the hong kong market and will open branches in yau tsim mong and central areas. it also said that its recruitment poster lists positions including store manager or deputy store manager, with a monthly salary. the maximum salary is hk$30,000, and the maximum salary for baristas is hk$20,000.

founded in 2017, luckin coffee is one of the largest coffee chain brands in the country. it was co-founded by ucar founder lu zhengyao and coo qian zhiya and is headquartered in xiamen. as of the end of july this year, the number of stores nationwide has exceeded 20,000. (sina finance)

editor's comment:

in fact, in addition to luckin coffee, many beverage shops have accelerated their development in hong kong, including bawang cha ji, cha baidao, etc. with high-quality product capabilities combined with marketing experience, luckin may quickly gain a foothold.

m stand × amazing panda launches collaboration

image source: brand official

recently, m stand has launched a limited-time collaboration with the comic ip amazing panda. the two will use the wonderful birth of a cup of coffee as inspiration to launch a newly developed "green bamboo latte", which accurately combines panda's elegant bamboo flavor with rich nutty black chocolate. flavored espresso.

in addition, the two parties will also launch a series of peripheral products such as panda pendants, panda headbands, panda hug cups, and graffiti umbrellas, which consumers can own by purchasing designated packages. (socialbeta)

editor's comment:

m stand has always been a "peripheral manufacturer", and this time it joins hands with the cute version of ip. the cooperation between the two parties has brought unprecedented novel experiences to consumers.

the head of swatch group calls "privatization" rumors pure speculation

image source: brand official

a few days ago, nick hayek, ceo of swiss high-end watch giant swatch group (swatch group), said in an interview that the news that the company is considering privatization is "pure speculation", although it is a "good thing worth doing" .

nick hayek said, "i have always said that taking the company private is a good thing, and it is even more tempting given that our stock price has been so low for so long... everything else is pure speculation." nick hayek and other family members own about 25% of the group's shares but control about 42% of the voting rights. (luxe.co)

editor's comment:

in the past year, swatch group has faced difficulties such as the market downturn. although nick hayek has previously expressed his willingness to go private, he also expressed his unwillingness to bear the debt required to acquire existing shareholders. therefore, in the future, swatch group will which path watch will take is still unknown.

-personnel updates-

vf group hires former gap executive to head dickies

image source: brand official

recently, vf group is hiring a gap veteran, chris goble, to lead its dickies brand. he will start working at dickies on october 14. chris goble most recently served as chief product officer and general manager of gap north america. (wwd)

editor's comment:

it is worth noting that this appointment is the ninth leadership change made by the company since ceo bracken darrell joined. facing the fiercely competitive external environment, the dickies brand also has to activate its team through frequent personnel adjustments.

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