Korean startup Lifegoeson, which operates the popular non-face-to-face mobile laundry service Laundrygo, has attracted 49 billion won ($36 million) in Series C investment.
This investment was led by H&Q Korea, a first-generation private equity fund (PEF) manager in Korea, with an investment of 30 billion ($22 million). Bezos-KB Investment Consortium, Pebbles Asset Management, KB Securities, Hanwha Investment & Securities, and Musinsa joined as new investors. Among existing investors, Altos Ventures, Ajou IB Investment, and Softbank Ventures participated in the investment.
Lifegoeson launched Laundrygo in March 2019, a first-of-its-kind non-face-to-face mobile laundry service in Korea. The company has an average annual sales growth rate of about 300% despite the Covid-19 crisis.
H&Q Korea, which led the investment, said, “We expect Lifegoeson to become a game changer amid fundamental changes in lifestyle, such as the future growth potential of mobile laundry and the outsourcing of housework due to the increase in single-and two-person households.”
In particular, after attracting investment in the previous year, Lifegoeson has entered unmanned smart laundry with various services such as Laundry 24 and hotel laundry – Laundry Business. Investors were attracted to the company for its sales growth of nearly three times that of the previous year and its rapid improvement in profitability thanks to economies of scale through smart factories.
In addition, through acquiring A+ Machinery in the US, the startup has internalized factory design, procurement, and construction (EPC) technology to build the world’s largest B2C smart factory. Lifegoeson also wants to focus on automating smart factory logistics to respond to growing customer demand, upgrading CS systems to improve customer experience, and expanding Laundrygo’s new service areas.
With the investment, the startup is expected to collaborate with Musinsa for used clothes and laundry services. The company will also aggressively expand as Laundrygo will open its 100th unmanned store this month. Cho Seong-woo, CEO of Lifegoeson, said, “I am happy to contribute to enriching the lives of busy modern people by innovating the laundry industry. I am grateful that leading domestic investors participated in this journey. The company will do its best to grow beyond Korea into a company with the world’s best competitiveness and fulfill its social responsibilities.”
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Reba Fleurantin
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