RPG Commerce raises Series A funding, eyes global expansion

RPG Commerce, a direct-to-consumer ecommerce company, announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its Series A funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, a Singapore-based venture capital firm backed by Temasek.

Joseph Phua, co-founder and chairman of 17 Live also participated in the funding round that RPG Commerce, a startup incorporated in Singapore and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, said will help fuel its global expansion.

RPG Commerce builds, launches, and scales multi-brand commerce businesses globally. While its products are present in over 40 countries, its current main markets are in the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia. It has now over 100 employees in several locations.

It primarily launches and incubates its own native brands in tandem to acquiring brands, as opposed to the practice of seeking to “roll-up” small ecommerce brands purely via brand acquisitions, and selling on other ecommerce platforms.

To date, the company has launched over 10 brands globally in different categories such as men’s fashion, home and living, and fashion accessories. RPG Commerce said most of these brands are already generating multi-million-dollar revenues annually.

“This funding round is a significant milestone for RPG Commerce. We are honored that our partners have placed their trust and confidence in us as we continue to build, launch, and scale e-commerce brands globally,” said the company’s co-founder and CEO Melvin Chee.

In line with the funds raised, RPG Commerce also announced the appointment of Warren Tseng as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Tseng will be tasked with leading the operation of the business and championing the strategic direction in alignment with the company’s development.

Tseng was previously General Manager of ride-hailing giant, Uber, for Singapore and Malaysia, and helmed the APAC market as Regional General Manager at Cloud Kitchen, a startup venture by Travis Kalanick, co-founder and former CEO of Uber.