Kuala Lumpur, 4 January - Poptron, a lifestyle social commerce platform today announced a USD 1 million funding from a NASDAQ listed company. This strategic investment will enable Poptron to scale its operations and technology toward being a key regional social commerce platform. Poptron is planning to fundraise the remaining USD375,000 on pitchIN - an equity crowdfunding platform in Q1 2021.
These investments will be used to develop the platform’s version 2.0, expected to be up in January 2021 as well as expand the team and begin operations in Singapore by Q1 2021.
The curated e-commerce site was launched on 4th September 2020 to offer microbrands selling high quality, natural and eco-friendly products or artisanal goods a platform to connect with like-minded global users. Over 100 microbrands with more than 700 different types of product listings have since come on board, ranging from personal care, fashion items, arts and crafts, to pets necessities and home & living products.
Poptron’s founder, Brian Johnson Lowe said, “Before the Movement Control Order (MCO), I used to frequent local arts bazaars and discovered a lot of interesting, high-quality products from small brands and businesses. Due to the pandemic, bazaars came to a halt, so these brands are depending on online sales, usually gathered from various social media platforms like Facebook & Instagram. Online demand generation became a critical area of focus, and it became quite evident that securing new customers online isn't as easy as it seems”
There are almost 2.2 million microbrands globally in 2020, with the Total Available Market of USD7.6 billion. Out of this, the Serviceable Available Market for Poptron is worth USD3.8 billion, which counts for 1.5 million out of the expected 3.79 million global microbrand market in 2025. Poptron aims to capture USD1.6 billion of the market share with 600,000 microbrands generating Poptron’s global revenue in 2025.
"With Poptron, we hope to gather all these brands in one place for consumers to discover, our idea is to prove the value of this unique platform and increase the business returns of our merchants first. Being able to make the strides that we have during the course of this year is a testament to the drive and passion of the team. We are also greatly appreciative of the support we have received from our investor and our legal advisers, Shin Associates” he added.
Poptron helps sellers overcome key pain points in customer acquisition, business management and regional growth by using a single platform to handle everything from enquiries to shipping. Users will also be able to discover, follow and shop with peace of mind through a practical and intuitive user interface while tracking each delivery straight to their doorstep.
For more information visit www.poptron.co
