S’pore’s Love, Bonito, That Started as a Blogshop, Now Eyeing IPO

Heard of the UniQlo boyfriend and Love, Bonito girlfriend aesthetic?

Well, it’s about to be spread to the United States too – just the latter part of the aesthetic though.

Singapore’s Lovebonito Holdings, owner of the Love, Bonito female fashion brand is targeting opening its first physical store in the United States in 2023, and is also eyeing an initial public offering (IPO).

First US Store to open in 2023

Singapore’s Lovebonito Holdings is backed by investors including the Chinese buyout firm Primavera Capital Group.

The chief executive of Lovebonito Holdings, Ms Dione Song, had said that the US was one the big bet markets that the company wanted to double down on.

“There is a huge Asian diaspora market, Asian expats, Asian population there – they really want the right products that can really fit them well, that really speak to them,” she said.

Song also added that the firm had set up a team for its US strategy already.

Founded in 2010, Lovebonito Holdings has 16 stores spread across the region. Aside from Singapore, there are stores in Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Hong Kong as well.

For something that started as a blogshop, that’s pretty impressive.

The company counts Primavera Capital as one of its investors.

Now, not all of us are finance bros, so for those of us that have no idea what Primavera Capital is, here’s a quick fact to help you understand: it was an early investor in billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group.

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In October 2021, the Chinese private equity firm led a US$50 million (S$71.3 million) funding round in Lovebonito Holdings.

The other investors include the Singapore-based Openspace Ventures, Japanese comparison-shopping site Kakaku.com, Shanghai-headquartered venture capital firm Ondine Capital and Japanese fashion chain store Adastria.

Plans for an IPO

Song, 33, said that Lovebonito Holdings’ plans for an IPO, or a stock launch, were “definitely in the midterm horizon”.

However, specific details in relation the Lovebonito Holdings’ plans for an IPO were not given.

Instead, Song merely said that: “We are moving towards that direction”.

Lovebonito Holdings really is keeping us on the edge of our seats.

This week, the company announced the acquisition of butter, a woman-led activewear brand, as well as a small investment in Moon Health, a Singapore healthcare start-up. Deal values were not provided.

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Featured Image: Instagram (@lovebonito)