Tag: RPG Commerce

East Ventures Leads RPG Commerce’s Series B Funding

East Ventures is leading a $29 million or approximately 431 billion Rupiah series B funding round for RPG Commerce. In addition, this round was also led by UOB Venture Management, Vertex Ventures SEA & India (VVSEAI), and RHL Ventures.

In his official statement, East Ventures’ Co-founder and Managing Partner, Willson Cuaca said, RPG Commerce has a unique position as it takes an approach by serving various categories, brands, and roll-up models in e-commerce sector.

He said this is an important strategy for D2C businesses to attract international interest in ensuring its success in the market. “RPG Commerce is capable to grow a loyal customer base in the United States, Canada, and Europe, through quality products and innovation in the supply chain,” Willson said.

RPG Commerce’s Co-founder & CEO, Melvin Chee said he would use the additional funding to add to the brand portfolio and the team numbers, encourage R&D innovation, also M&A. “We wanted to quickly add to our talent and leverage technology capabilities to expand our consumer landscape,” Melvin said.

On a general note, RPG Commerce is a D2C-based social commerce startup from Malaysia. The platform offers in-house brand products in the categories of daily necessities, clothing to basic household. Currently, RPG partners with more than ten brands, including Thousand Miles, Bottom Labs, Eubi, Montigo, and Cosmic Cookware.

RPG manages various brands from product launch, operations, and optimization supported by end-to-end production and delivery. According to the company’s data, RPG is supported by state-of-the-art back-end technology and a visionary creative team that has been able to rapidly expand its brand portfolio and grow its customers by 300% over the past year.

With the spirit of supporting independent businesses with on-demand products, he aims to empower small business owners through incubation and acquisition programs to serve consumers in various verticals.

Investment climate and social commerce potential

In a recent interview with DailySocial.id, Willson Cuaca mentioned some interesting notes regarding the investment climate. Despite the negative sentiment in the Indonesian startup ecosystem, he believes that this has not changed his position in finding potential startups.

He said, there are still many startups with good fundamentals. “Remain calm and alert in dealing with this situation. Seek support from your investors, be more prudent in spending, and don’t do fundraising when your company needs money,” Willson advises the founders.

In the context of social commerce in Indonesia, this model shows the potential for great growth in the future. Bain & Co data recorded that transactions from social commerce contributed $12 billion to the total GMV of e-commerce in the country which amounted to $47 billion in 2020.

In addition, social commerce trends continue to develop considering that rural communities still have limited access to fulfill their needs through online platforms compared to people living in urban areas.

By empowering the distribution network model or reseller, social commerce can open access to products and wider job opportunities.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian

East Ventures Pimpin Pendanaan Seri B di RPG Commerce

East Ventures memimpin putaran pendanaan seri B senilai $29 juta atau sekitar 431 miliar Rupiah kepada RPG Commerce. Selain East Ventures, putaran ini juga dipimpin oleh UOB Venture Management, Vertex Ventures SEA & India (VVSEAI), dan RHL Ventures.

Dalam keterangan resminya, Co-founder dan Managing Partner East Ventures Willson Cuaca mengatakan, RPG Commerce memiliki posisi unik karena mengambil pendekatan dengan melayani berbagai kategori, merek, dan model roll-up di sektor e-commerce.

Menurutnya, ini menjadi strategi penting bagi bisnis D2C untuk memiliki daya tarik internasional demi memastikan kesuksesannya di pasar. “RPG Commerce mampu menumbuhkan basis pelanggan loyal di Amerika Serikat, Kanada, hingga Eropa, melalui produk berkualitas dan inovasi di supply chain,” tutur Willson.

Co-founder & CEO RPG Commerce Melvin CHee menyebutkan akan menambah portofolio merek dan jumlah SDM, mendorong inovasi R&D, hingga M&A dengan tambahan pendanaan ini. “Kami ingin menambah talenta kami dengan cepat dan meningkatkan kemampuan teknologi untuk memperluas lanskap konsumen kami,” ujar Melvin.

Sebagai informasi, RPG Commerce merupakan startup social commerce berbasis D2C asal Malaysia. RPG menawarkan produk merek in-house pada kategori kebutuhan sehari-hari, pakaian hingga rumah tangga. Saat ini, RPG bermitra dengan lebih dari sepuluh merek, termasuk Thousand Miles, Bottom Labs, Eubi, Montigo, dan Cosmic Cookware.

RPG mengelola berbagai merek mulai dari peluncuran produk, operasional, hingga optimalisasi yang didukung oleh produksi dan pengiriman secara end-to-end. Menurut perusahaan, RPG didukung teknologi back-end canggih dan tim kreatif yang visioner sehingga mampu melakukan ekspansi portofolio merek dengan cepat dan pertumbuhan pelanggan hingga 300% selama satu tahun terakhir.

Dengan semangat mendukung bisnis secara independen dengan produk sesuai permintaan, pihaknya berharap dapat memberdayakan pemilik bisnis kecil melalui program inkubasi dan akuisisi demi melayani konsumen di berbagai vertikal.

Iklim investasi dan potensi social commerce

Dalam wawancara dengan DailySocial.id baru-baru ini, Willson Cuaca memberikan beberapa catatan menarik terkait iklim investasi. Terlepas dengan adanya sentimen negatif di ekosistem startup Indonesia, ia menilai hal tersebut tidak mengubah posisinya dalam mencari startup yang potensial.

Menurutnya, masih banyak startup-startup yang memiliki fundamental yang baik. “Tetap bersifat tenang dan sigap dalam menghadapi situasi ini. Mencari dukungan dari para investor Anda, be more prudent in spending, dan jangan melakukan fundraising di saat perusahaan Anda memerlukan uang,” saran Willson untuk para founder.

Dalam konteks social commerce di Indonesia, model ini termasuk yang menunjukkan potensi pertumbuhan besar di masa depan. Data Bain & Co mencatat transaksi dari social commerce menyumbang $12 miliar terhadap total GMV e-commerce di tanah Air yang sebesar $47 miliar di 2020.

Di samping itu, tren social commerce terus berkembang mengingat masyarakat pedesaan masih memiliki keterbatasan akses dalam memenuhi kebutuhannya melalui platform online dibanding masyarakat yang tinggal di perkotaan.

Dengan memberdayakan model jaringan distribusi atau reseller, social commerce dapat membuka akses terhadap produk dan kesempatan kerja lebih luas.