Khazanah Nasional today took steps to further explain their investment in FashionValet – a continuation of its disposal which led to controversy and criticism from many users, due to the high loss of investment value.
Khazanah Nasional said they chose to invest in FashionValet for a 9% stake at a value of RM27 million, in line with the speed of the e-commerce arena at that time. FashionValet itself at that time had more than 400 brands under their e-commerce service, covering 15,000 products. When the investment is made, it is expected that FashionValet will achieve an annual income increase of around 60%. For information, Khazanah has previously defended the investment in FashionValet that was made in 2018.
In addition to the rationale behind the increase in e-commerce during the period in question, Khazanah also invested in FashionValet in an effort to support local companies and entrepreneurs. However, the company faced challenges year after year, until the board of directors and shareholders chose to change FashionValet's focus from being an e-commerce platform to developing its own brands, Duck and Lilit.
Vivy Yusof and Fadza Anuar themselves today also said that they take full responsibility for the failure of investment in their company. They say they have invested heavily in their technology, as well as adding too many physical stores – leading to a failure in good management. Due to this, the two founders of FashionValet are now also leaving all their positions from the business.
For information, at the beginning of this year, FashionValet was taken over by NXBT. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Finance shared that PNB and Khazanah had invested a total of RM47 million in FashionValet, and sold or disposed of it at a value of RM3.1 million – leading to a loss of investment.