On January 13, Sequoia Capital China (hereinafter referred to as "Sequoia China") announced that it will acquire a majority stake in WE11DONE, a global fashion trend brand originating from Seoul.
According to South Korean media Pulse News Korea, Sequoia China invested 100 billion won (about 84 million US dollars, 537 million yuan) to acquire more than 60% of WE11DONE's equity, while holding control of WE11DONE's parent company Rare Inc., which also operates Seoul's famous fashion boutique Rare Market.
Upon completion of the transaction, WE11DONE and two founders of Rare Market, Jessica Jung and Dami Kwon, still own about 30% of the company and will continue to dominate the creative direction. CoO Sang Mo Kim will also continue to be responsible for the overall business.
Sequoia China will leverage local and global resources, as well as rich experience in technological innovation and retail innovation, to accelerate WE11DONE's entry into major global markets such as China, the United States and Europe.
In addition, David Wertheimer, a fourth-generation member of the Wertheimer family, the holding family of the French luxury group CHANEL, and Mirabaud Lifestyle Impact & Innovation, an investment fund launched in partnership with Swiss asset management company Mirabaud, will also become a minority shareholder in WE11DONE.
Seeing this, there may be small partners who are curious about what kind of brand WE11DONE is, what kind of charm it has, and what is the acquisition purpose of Sequoia Capital, and what kind of ambition is behind it.
Today, SO Sister will take you to understand the story behind this acquisition.
The charm of WE11DONE
Speaking of WE11DONE, some small partners may be relatively unfamiliar, but whenever this brand is mentioned, another person who always has to be talked about can be said to be well known by many people, he is the famous Korean artist and the captain of the group BIGBANG G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong).
Dami Kwon, one of the founders of WE11DONE, is GD's sister.
GD's influence on the fashion circle needless to say, like GD, sister Kwon Delta has also had a strong interest in fashion since childhood. In 2014, she and her good girlfriend Zheng Huizhen opened a buyer's collection store, Rare Market. The "Rare" in the name of the store is named by GD himself, which means: unique.
Because of GD's fame, Rare Market has been famous since its opening, with its own aura. Rare Market has captured many fashionable designer brands and fashion items that are rarely seen in South Korea, such as Marine Serre, Alyx, Martine Rose and PeterDo, standing at the forefront of the fashion trend and becoming a punch card resort for hipsters.
Kwon Anderson and Cheng Huizhen have also gained a large number of fans with their unique fashion tastes and awareness of fashion.
In 2015, Kwon Andrma and Zheng Huizhen came up with the idea of starting their own brands, hoping to go international from Korea, with the concept of "creating scarcity and leading the trend", Rare Market launched its own fashion brand: WE11DONE.
The name WE11DONE is inspired by Rare Market's Rare, a rare term used to describe a steak as cooked, welldone for fully cooked, meaning "well done well made," and the number 11 represents the original 11 team members.
Despite the GD bonus, the success of WE11DONE is inseparable from its design and quality.
WE11DONE's clothing is basically unisex, the overall tone is also neutral style, the retro loose silhouette of the 90s blends with the street alternative style, while the cut is meticulous, the fabric is exquisite, and it can look different with other items.
Kwon Thammar once said: "You can wear WE11DONE clothes every day, and every day feels different. ”
WE11DONE is also loved by many celebrities, completely capturing Yang Mi, Jin Hyunya, Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber.
In terms of price, most of the styles of WE11DONE are priced between 500-5000 yuan, but there is no physical store in China for the time being, and the acquisition of Sequoia China may be regarded as an important opportunity for WE11DONE to officially enter the Chinese market.
Sequoia China's ambitions
After talking about WE11DONE, let's talk about another protagonist of this acquisition - Sequoia China.
Sequoia China is part of Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm founded in 1972. As the "entrepreneur behind the entrepreneurs", Sequoia Capital focuses on investment in four directions: technology/media, healthcare, consumer goods/services, and industrial technology.
Over the past 16 years, Sequoia China has invested in more than 300 companies, including Alibaba, DJI, Meituan.com, Today's Toutiao and JD.com.
Previously, Sequoia China's investment in the fashion field included: fast fashion cross-border e-commerce full speed online, women's underwear brand Ubras, China's cutting-edge skin care brand UNISKIN Youshiyan and so on.
In January 2021, Sequoia China acquired a majority stake in French designer brand AMI.
In early February of the same year, Angelica Cheung, who had been the editor-in-chief of Vogue Apparel & Beauty for 16 years, joined Sequoia China as an investment partner.
Zhang Yu said that after joining Sequoia China, she will continue to focus on the fashion, lifestyle and entertainment consumption areas that she specializes in, "aiming to help find a new generation of Chinese creativity and international brands seeking development in China."
Four months later, Zhang Yu completed her first investment in the fashion sector since joining Sequoia China: she acquired a minority stake in the Canadian trendy e-commerce platform SSENSE, and Zhang Yu also joined the board of directors of SSENSE.
The acquisition of WE11DONE can also be seen as Zhang Yu's second fashion investment in Sequoia China.
In an interview with VOGUEBUSINESS, she said: "Over the past few years, WE11DONE has established a unique image and has a solid following, and now is the best time to expand into online and offline retail and further strengthen the brand image, which is important for maintaining long-term growth, Sequoia China will assume the role of 'co-driver' with most of its investment, support and resources to bring WE11DONE to Chinese consumers." ”
Exactly when WE11DONE entered China is unknown, but it is certain that Sequoia China is trying to build its own fashion empire through acquisitions.