Indonesian direct-to-consumer fashion label Claude has announced completion of its seed round, led by CyberAgent Capital and family office Prima Fund I, with plans to enhance current product offerings and boost its presence in markets where it is currently located, such as Indonesia and Singapore.
In July 2022, Claude began its expansion beyond Indonesia, opening its first brick-and-mortar store in Singapore’s Takashimaya Shopping Centre.
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The independent brand has ambitions to continue its international expansion, deeper into Southeast Asia as well as in Europe and the United States.
“In this globalised world where technology enables us to cross-border real-time, becoming global immediately enhances your total addressable market a hundred times over while simultaneously strengthening the strong brand equity we carefully preserve,” says chief executive officer Tommy Budihardjo, who co-founded the label with Christie Johana in 2018.
Joining the sustainable fashion movement, Claude aims to minimise waste by producing small quantities or “micro-batches” of designs, producing additional batches only when stock is in demand. The business model, according to Budihardjo, “successfully cuts finished goods waste by 90 percent and maximises the revenue and profitability at the same time.”
“We believe the company could bring its unique value propositions and be well-accepted by the huge Indonesian and Southeast Asian apparel markets,” says Nobuaki Kitagawa, managing director of CyberAgent Capital.