Founder of Global Fashion Group and Jumia (potentially valued at over $1.6 billion in recent IPO), the German e-commerce investor plans to set up even more companies this year.
Ten years ago, Robert Gentz and David Schneider founded what has become Europe’s biggest fashion e-commerce player. Now, Amazon is targeting their turf, but the duo has bigger plans: an operating system for fashion.
Chief executive Oliver Samwer said he would incubate and invest in firms trying to make it in the competitive US market.
After a slew of challenges, the ex-Rocket Internet fashion e-commerce subsidiary is taking a more pragmatic view on the future.
The adjusted loss narrowed to €32.3 million ($34.3 million) from €54 million a year earlier.
Rocket Internet has lowered the value of one of its key portfolio companies by more than 50 percent in a new financing round, the latest setback the Berlin-based startup incubator.
Rocket Internet shares fell the most in more than four months after a writedown of the value of online retailer Global Fashion Group contributed to a a first-half loss of €617 million ($690 million) at the startup factory.
Rocket Internet SE, Germany’s highest-profile startup investor, contributed 68 million euros to a 330-million-euro funding round for its startup Global Fashion Group, completing a deal first announced in April.
After slower growth from Nigeria to Russia and Brazil, Rocket Internet's 2012 launched would-be African Amazon company Jumia has casted doubt on Rocket Internet's ambition to become the world's biggest Internet company outside the United States and China.
Rocket Internet SE shrank losses at several of its holdings, a relief for the biggest European startup factory as it seeks to convince shareholders its investments in the likes of Delivery Hero and Global Fashion Group will pay off.
Rocket Internet's investors need to buy into its five to 10 year plans rather than focusing on short-term market fluctuations, founder Oliver Samwer told a German newspaper.
Investment AB Kinnevik pulled its two directors from the supervisory board of Rocket Internet SE, the latest sign of growing friction between two companies that have co-invested in European and emerging market startups for several years.