<article>Japanese beauty portal <a href="http://cosme.com/" target="_blank">@Cosme</a>, a subsidiary of Japanese firm <a href="http://istyle.co.jp/" target="_blank">istyle inc, </a>has invested an undisclosed amount in <a href="https://www.vanitee.com/sg" target="_blank">Vanitee</a>, a Singapore-based digital marketplace for beauty artists.</article>

Japanese beauty portal <a href="http://cosme.com/" target="_blank">@Cosme</a>, a subsidiary of Japanese firm <a href="http://istyle.co.jp/" target="_blank">istyle inc, </a>has invested an undisclosed amount in <a href="https://www.vanitee.com/sg" target="_blank">Vanitee</a>, a Singapore-based digital marketplace for beauty artists.
Vanitee <a href="http://www.marketing-interactive.com/luxasia-invests-sg2-million-local-beauty-app/" target="_blank">secured a Series A investment</a> worth S$2 million (US$1.45 million) from <a href="http://www.luxasia.com" target="_blank">Luxasia Group</a> and <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=25452856&amp;privcapId=24321807&amp;previousCapId=44707714&amp;previousTitle=Sirius%20Venture%20Capital%20Pte%20Ltd." target="_blank">Robert Yap</a> of <a href="http://www.ych.com" target="_blank">YCH Group</a> just last month (September 2015).
@Cosme operates e-commerce and relaxation spa information sites in addition to physical retail chain stores in Tokyo and Osaka. The brand also maintains significant mindshare and consumer awareness in the Greater China market.
Vanitee is looking at adding to its 23-strong team and expand to the North Asian market in the coming months. Currently, it focusses on developing sustainable business operations in Singapore.
Commenting on how the capital would be invested in the venture and expansion, particularly talent acquisition, co-founder and CEO Douglas Gan told DEALSTREETASIA: &#8220;We are looking at markets in a very careful manner. We are mindful of over expansion and focusing on driving sustainability.&#8221;
Gan added, &#8220;New markets that we enter must satisfy a list of criteria that we will share at a later date as we expand to more markets. When we built VanityTrove, we successfully rolled it out to 7 countries within 18 months. We might or might not do that with Vanitee.&#8221;
Incepted in September 2014 by the founding team of Gan, Choy Peng Kong (CTO) and Kuik Xiaoshi (COO), Vanitee maintains a customer base in excess of 3000 clients, who average two or three bookings on the platform.
In response to securing successive investments in a short period, Gan stated: “I believe the main reason why investors would be interested in startups is our ability to communicate our vision, business goals and the impact of what we are trying to do on people’s lives. And investors … they love entrepreneurs with big ideas who have the humility to get their hands dirty and get things done.”
In the wake of the investment, Gan said about the post-money valuation of the firm to DEALSTREETASIA that, &#8220;&#8230;the valuation we got is very decent. It still motivates the founders and we have more than enough room to raise a few more rounds of funding to grow the business. At this stage, the founders still retain a significant majority.&#8221;
<a href="https://sg.linkedin.com/in/keisugawara" target="_blank">Kei Sugawara</a>, the CFO of istlye.inc said, “As part of our first ever expansion into Southeast Asia, we are thrilled to work with Vanitee to stretch the @Cosme footprint beyond Japan. We will focus our efforts to revolutionise how consumers in Singapore and Southeast Asia purchase and experience cosmetics and beauty products and services.”
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Vanitee, a digital marketplace for beauty and wellness services, has secured corporate investment from @Cosme, a Japanese beauty portal.

Singapore: Japan's @Cosme invests in online beauty artist platform Vanitee

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Singapore: Japan's @Cosme invests in online beauty artist platform Vanitee

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