East Ventures Leads Casual Initial Funding, Fashion Startup Blending D2C Technology and Strategy

Startups direct to consumers (D2C) Casual announced it has secured seed funding led by East Ventures. The product they developed was everyday wear, with an initial focus on men's trousers. The fresh funds will be used to strengthen the team, technology and factory capabilities, as well as expand the company's operational expansion to Solo, Central Java.

To make it easier for consumers to access their products, currently Casual have their own site. In addition to the sales platform, it also provides several features. The first is called "Build Your Own Product", allowing customers to choose the type of cut and size that is tailored to their preferences. There is also a "Virtual Fitting" service, providing direct consultation services with the Casual team via video calls regarding sizes, fitting personalized, and product recommendations.

With a simpler ordering process and in-house garment production, products can be delivered to customers in less than 5 days. The personalization and technological approach that is presented is claimed to make Casual as a fashion-tech and instant commerce first in Indonesia.

"We recognize that the trend E-commerce has mushroomed very quickly and helps customers shop comfortably from home, so they demand manufacturers or sellers who can provide daily necessities, especially pants, more quickly and reliably. However, brand Currently, local people still ignore technology that can actually be a vital aspect of production fashion. This means that currently customers still do not have a reliable platform to get the product fashion instantly personalized," said the Founder & CEO of Casual Alam Akbar.

It was also conveyed, casual has experienced a 3x growth when the first pandemic entered Indonesia in 2020 compared to 2019 (YoY). Until now, they have served around 80 thousand users and have produced more than 3 thousand products per month.

D2C Trend

According to the data compiled in the report "Driving Growth with D2C" by Ogilvy, Commercetolls, and Verticurl, owners of brand currently considered to have a D2C digital strategy to be able to win the market. The main goal is to build a more personal relationship with customers, so as to create an experience brand more effective and attractive as a value proposition. D2C provides invaluable ownership of customer data.

One of the much-reported case studies is the success of Perfect Diary, a brand Chinese cosmetics. Founded in 2016, the startup achieved impressive growth throughout its 2 years of business. Even in 2019, they became one of the three brand with the most sales. Until finally in 2020 decided to IPO with a valuation of $ 7 billion. Their main strategy is none other than D2C.

There are three main pillars that brand owners ideally have in their D2C strategy. First, it allows them to find product differentiation, this unique value is considered to invite more customers. Second, the ability to empower customer data to better understand their needs and characteristics. And third, encourage brand leadership with more agility overall, including on the operational side.

Seeing the same opportunities, some local players try their luck in the sector. East Ventures itself has also invested in another D2C startup in the skin care field called Base and a plant-based drink called Mohjo. There is also Hypefast who is here to help brand owners sharpen their D2C strategies -- including by providing capital, network, access, and operational support.

On the investor side, apart from East Ventures, several other local venture capitalists have also started to enter there. Starting from Alpha JWC Ventures, AC Ventures, to BRI Ventures through Sembrani. Latest there is Kinesys who weave collaboration with The-Wolfpack specifically to strengthen the D2C ecosystem in its portfolio.

For the fashion business itself, until now it still dominates sales in Indonesia online shopping globaly. Innovation is needed to maintain this growth, along with changing trends that occur among consumers.

Next Casual Development

Various personalization features will also continue to be developed to support the system fashion commerce owned by Casual. One of them is body measurement with 3D technology to strengthen custom personalization which will be introduced by Casual at their annual event "Custom Week 2021" on 17-19 December 2021 in Jakarta. By using an electronic body scanner, visitors can place orders custom instantly and accurately.

“We are delighted to welcome East Ventures and other investors to the Casual family. With this funding, we will build a new team, improve the digital experience for customers and manufacturing processes, roll out more product categories and initiatives marketing, as well as using new technologies such as AR measurements to create the first 3D body measurements in Indonesia. Going forward, we want to increase and process daily orders by 10x and process more than 5 thousand products every day,” explained Alam.

Meanwhile the Co-Founder & Managing Partner of East Ventures Willson Cuaca, said, “Indonesia has one of the most robust digital infrastructures in the region that enables small businesses to sell goods custom like Casual thrives. We want to see how far they can go and support them along the company's growth journey.”