Vietnamese Menswear Retailer Coolmate Bags $2.3M In Series A Funding

Coolmate, a Vietnamese retailer brand that sells menswear products on its own e-commerce store, has raised an additional $2.3 million for its Series A funding round participated by GSR Ventures and Do Ventures.

Following the success of its May 2022 Series A round led by Access Ventures with the participation of Do Ventures, CyberAgent Capital, and DSG Consumer Partners, which enabled them to secure $2 million, this fresh capital was raised in a mix of primary and secondary deals.

All in all, Coolmate has raised a total of $5.4 million for this round.

With the additional capital, Coolmate will boost the completion of the supply chain for its apparel product line. They’ll begin with sourcing new material and production technology and setting up partnerships with a larger and more diversified garment, fabric, and accessories suppliers.

Founded in early 2019, Coolmate is known for its D2C e-commerce retailing model, offering menswear products manufactured in Vietnam. The D2C e-commerce model allows them to provide products directly through online channels and cut the distribution costs in traditional retail.

Nhu Pham, Coolmate CEO and founder, said they value GSR Ventures as a reputable investment firm with decades of experience helping early startups grow into unicorns. “We were thrilled to extend our Series A for the opportunity to work with GSR Ventures to take Coolmate to the next stage of growth.”

In addition, Pham said they will utilize the new capital to plan for an IPO in 2025.

The homegrown retailer brand is the first Vietnamese startup to receive funding from the world-renowned early backer of unicorns, GSR Ventures. The California-based fund has $3 billion invested in a raft of mostly mainland Chinese companies, including Chinese ride-hailing app Didi, and Ele.me (since sold to Alibaba) as well as Advance Intelligence Group, Nium, Ele.me, and Xiaohongshu.

Coolmate boasts 100% high-quality Vietnamese-made clothing and accessories. Year to date, the company has managed to triple its revenue and is on track to hit its $19 million sales target for 2022.

The brand is about setting an example of a sustainable business that can bring real value to its employees, customers, partners, and shareholders.