Leflair rumored to get new owner after bankruptcy filling

June 08, 2021 | 08:00
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The e-commerce market is heating up following the news of e-commerce brand Leflair making a return under the wings of a new investor.    
leflair rumored to get new owner after bankruptcy filling
Leflair is rumored to get a new owner after bankruptcy filling

It is said that the investor behind Leflair is a US tech firm that has been operating in Vietnam for three years now with a track record of many successful mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals involving local small and mid-sized tech firms.

Leflair is an e-commerce platform that provides genuine branded products at a discount. The e-commerce platform official debuted in 2015 and quickly left an impression in the market with its business model of an inventory business rather than a marketplace. Specifically, Leflair keeps products from suppliers in its warehouses. To ensure the quality of the products, it developed two warehouses in Singapore and Hong Kong (China) with a strict inspection and management system.

In Vietnam, Leflair has become a reputable shopping site for luxury brands among middle-class customers. Following its inception in Vietnam in 2015, Leflair entered into partnerships with 2,500 brands and extended its reach to Singapore and the Philippines. By 2019, the e-commerce platform served over 120,000 customers a year, posting net revenues of up to dozens of million dollars per year with the highest average order value in Vietnam’s e-commerce market.

The startup bringing Leflair to Vietnam quickly achieved success and easily raised capital thanks to its strong business model built on flash sales. In its first few years, Leflair made a big splash in the local e-commerce market before filing for bankruptcy in May 2020. In March 2021, bankruptcy proceedings were opened, confirmed by the court's approval of bankruptcy proposal.

leflair rumored to get new owner after bankruptcy filling
The Leflair e-commerce platform provides genuine branded products at a discount

While Leflair has yet to make an official announcement regarding its new owner, customers are excited about rumours of their once beloved e-commerce platform returning to the market. Meanwhile, old partners looking for partnership opportunities are also wondering what the return would bring: even as Leflair's sudden bankruptcy declaration was a source of various difficulties, its return may open up new opportunities.

The startup owning Leflair filed for bankruptcy in May 2020 and then received legal approval. So far, Leflair has transferred the ownership of its trade name and intangible assets associated with the Leflair trademark to a new investor in accordance with international law.

This M&A deal is made between the new investor from the United States and the owner of the Leflair brand, a corporation headquartered in Hong Kong. It is known that the new investor will soon launch the Leflair brand in the market with a view to make full use of the familiarity of the brand to revive the Leflair e-commerce platform. The new investor also focuses on investment and business activities by combining the new platform and operating system as well as selecting suppliers with high-quality and genuine products to offer customers professional service.

Leflair is a familiar name but it has been fully acquired and is now operated by a new owner who is not legally responsibly for any activities by the previous owner whose bankruptcy proceedings were approved by the law.

leflair rumored to get new owner after bankruptcy filling
Leflair owns a strong business model built on flash sales

Highlights of Leflair under the previous owner – Leflair JSC

- Early 2015: Leflair's startup successfully raised $300,000 from Apple Tree in an informal funding round.

- At the end of 2015: Leflair e-commerce platform was officially launched in Vietnam

- December 2016: Leflair opened a pre-seed round (Pre-series A) and successfully wrapped up an $1 million investment from Caldera Pacific, directly poured into Leflair e-commerce platform.

- End of 2017: Successfully raised $3 million from Capital Management Group (Series A funding round)

- 2018: Leflair announced $7 million investment from two investment funds – GS Shop and Belt Road Capital Management – in its Series B funding round, bringing the total value of the company's funding rounds to nearly $12 million.

- 2019: Expanding and launching in the Philippines market.

- May 2020: Leflair JSC filed for bankruptcy.

- March 2021: Bankruptcy proceedings were opened, confirmed by the court's approval of bankruptcy proposal.

leflair rumored to get new owner after bankruptcy filling
The Leflair e-commerce platform will be revived under the wings of a new investor

By Thanh Van

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