Cathay Capital Launches Consumer Co-Creation Fund in Partnership with Kering, L’Oréal and Pernod Ricard
December 8, 2021
Asia
New Fund, created in collaboration with global leaders in beauty, wine & spirits and luxury, dedicated to building next-gen consumer and retail startups across China
[China, 08 December 2021] — Today, Cathay Capital announced the launch of the Cathay Consumer Co-creation Fund, established in partnership with global industry leaders Kering, L’Oréal and Pernod Ricard. The joint Fund will invest and incubate early-stage Chinese companies with high-growth potential in the consumer goods and retail sectors.
The Chinese consumer market has recently undergone radical transformation, becoming a large and attractive landscape for new brands and emerging leaders. Thanks to its supply chain capabilities, multi-level market demands, increasing influence of the Chinese culture and established infrastructure, China is likely to be home to many world-class consumer and retail companies in the next few years.
Focusing on Seed to Series A, the new Fund takes open innovation to a deeper level to better support and scale emerging consumer startups while creating a positive impact on the industry and society. Cathay Capital will work closely with L’Oréal, Pernod Ricard and Kering, bringing unmatched expertise from the beauty, wine and spirits and luxury fields, to identify cornerstone entrepreneurs and business partners for co-creation. In addition, the Fund adds value to ecosystem partners with an expanded sourcing network of early to late-stage investments, R&D and collaborative business development opportunities.
Over the past 15 years, Cathay Capital has built a unique ecosystem, connecting investors, entrepreneurs and leading corporations to help companies scale and fuel sustainable digital transformation across industries. The firm has a strong track record in the global consumer sector, investing in several billion and multi-billion-dollar companies at various growth stages. Notable investments include Chime Bank and Sidecar Health in the US, Glovo and Ledger in Europe, along with well-known Chinese companies such as Pinduoduo (NASDAQ: PDD), Suofeiya Home Collection (SHE: 002572), Genki Forest (YuanQiSenLin), Deerma and Wonderlab.
Ma Jun, Partner at Cathay Capital, said: “China’s booming consumer sector is breeding massive opportunities for future, global business leaders. Partnering with visionary entrepreneurs who can lead markets and fuel innovation in industry and society for the better has always been core to our investment philosophy. Our global platform has powered the growth of hundreds of companies but with the Consumer Co-Creation Fund, we’ll be able to stand side-by-side with entrepreneurs from the earliest stages and throughout their growth cycle.”
Mingpo Cai, Founder and Chairman of Cathay Capital, said: “At Cathay Capital, we pride ourselves on cultivating collaborative partnerships throughout our ecosystem. With Cathay’s Consumer Co-Creation Fund, we believe we can inject new vitality into the investment landscape and bring even greater value to both local entrepreneurs and global industry leaders. By combining deep expertise from a uniquely ‘glocal’ perspective, our goal is to support founders building China’s next generation of world-class consumer companies while activating the global, sustainable transformation of the entire industry.”
About Cathay Capital Group
Cathay Capital Group is a global investment firm supporting companies at all stages throughout North America, Asia, Europe and Africa. By helping navigate the opportunities of globalization and sustainable transformation, Cathay is the partner of choice for companies aspiring to lead markets and make a positive impact. Its global platform connects people – from investors and entrepreneurs to management teams and leading corporations – across continents to share knowledge, the tools to scale, and achieve the extraordinary. Founded in 2007 with a strong entrepreneurial heritage, Cathay Capital now manages over $4.5B in assets, has completed over 190 buyouts, growth and venture capital investments with the global reach and local expertise from offices in Paris, New York, Shanghai, Munich, San Francisco, Beijing, Singapore, Shenzhen and Tel Aviv.
For more information, please visit www.cathaycapital.com
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About Kering
A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods, Jewelry and Watches: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux, as well as Kering Eyewear. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. We capture these beliefs in our signature: “Empowering Imagination”. In 2020, Kering had over 38,000 employees and revenue of €13.1 billion.
About L’Oreal Group & About L’Oréal China
L’Oréal, the world’s largest beauty company, entered China in 1997. L’Oréal China is headquartered in Shanghai and has five offices across the country. L’Oréal China currently has 28 brands and one R&I center in China, as well as two factories in Suzhou and Yichang, owning more than 12,000 employees. After 24 years of high-quality, steady and sustainable growth, L’Oréal China has become the second-largest market in the world, the largest market for L’Oréal’s seven international brands and the largest beauty company in China. In 2020, L’Oréal China achieved 27% sales growth, of which online sales accounted for 60% and achieved 56% growth. Relying on the advanced digital technology strategy and technology, L’Oréal’s first beauty tech hub is located in Shanghai besides the headquarters in Paris, which becomes the accelerator and core driving force of L’Oréal beauty tech strategic transformation. As one of the best corporate citizens in China, L’Oréal China has always implemented and kept the “L’Oréal for the Future – Sustainable Development Commitment 2030” in mind. China is also L’Oréal’s first market to achieve carbon neutrality for all its operated sites. In 2021, under the sustainable strategic guidance, L’Oréal China has continued to consolidate its market leadership, and achieved year-on-year growth of 37.9% in the first quarter; The company continues to increase the investment and commitment to the Chinese market, planning to build the world’s first self-built intelligent operation center- Fulfillment Factory. In the new regional strategic planning, L’Oréal China became the headquarter of the North Asia “Beauty Triangle”.
About Pernod Ricard
Pernod Ricard is the No.2 worldwide producer of wines and spirits with consolidated sales of €8,824 million in FY21. Created in 1975 by the merger of Ricard and Pernod, the Group has developed through organic growth and acquisitions: Seagram (2001), Allied Domecq (2005) and Vin&Sprit (2008). Pernod Ricard, which owns 16 of the Top 100 Spirits Brands, holds one of the most prestigious and comprehensive brand portfolios in the industry, including: Absolut Vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Malibu liqueur, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes, as well Jacob’s Creek, Brancott Estate, Campo Viejo, and Kenwood wines. Pernod Ricard’s brands are distributed across 160+ markets and by its own salesforce in 73 markets. The Group’s decentralised organisation empowers its 19,000 employees to be true on-the-ground ambassadors of its vision of “Créateurs de Convivialité.” As reaffirmed by the Group’s strategic plan, “Transform and Accelerate,” deployed in 2018, Pernod Ricard’s strategy focuses on investing in long-term, profitable growth for all stakeholders. The Group remains true to its three founding values: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust, and a strong sense of ethics, as illustrated by the 2030 Sustainability and Responsibility roadmap supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “Good times from a good place.” In recognition of Pernod Ricard’s strong commitment to sustainable development and responsible consumption, it has received a Gold rating from Ecovadis. Pernod Ricard is also a United Nation’s Global Compact LEAD company.
Pernod Ricard is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI; ISIN Code: FR0000120693) and is part of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices.