Pickupp completes Series A+ funding co-led by Taiwan e-commerce giant PChome & Cornerstone Ventures, accumulating USD$15M

Pickupp to expand presence in Singapore after completing Series A+ funding co-led by Taiwan E-commerce giant PChome and Cornerstone Ventures, accumulating USD$15M

Singapore, 5 July 2021 --- Pickupp, the on-demand delivery and tech startup redefining logistics, today announced that it has successfully raised approximately US$15 million in Series A and Series A+ financing from regional strategic investors, after raising its first round of investments in November 2020. The series A+ round funding was led by Taiwan e-commerce giant PChome and Cornerstone Ventures, with participation from an existing investor, Swire Properties, and new investors including Cathay Venture Inc. and DRIVE Catalyst (the corporate venture arm of Far Eastern Group) from Taiwan, and the Jardine Matheson Group and Zipx from Hong Kong. The company will accelerate new expansion in Taiwan and deepen its presences in key markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. The funds will enable Pickupp to strengthen its market position in Singapore as the go-to technology-enabled logistics provider for businesses and individuals. Pickupp will accelerate its operational efficiency in last-mile delivery for its customers – expanding its dispatch network island-wide to cater to rising demand in a sustainable manner. The new injection of funds will also see Pickupp embark on more strategic partnerships to enhance its digital offerings across its third-party logistics and e-commerce platform (Shop On Pickupp) – empowering businesses and merchants to fulfil customer demands with quality customer delivery experiences. Planning for Market Expansion The funding allows Pickupp to seize and capitalise on the opportunities amid the soaring growth in e-commerce. In a new forecast by Forrester, online retail sales in Asia Pacific will grow from $1.5 trillion in 2019 to $2.5 trillion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3%. “The pandemic has triggered a seismic shift in consumer behaviour, it has led to droves of retailers moving their business online and scaling up their digital presence to meet the surging demand. Over the past year, we’ve seen more retailers looking for reliable, flexible and faster delivery solutions,” said Crystal Pang, Co-founder and CEO of Pickupp. “We are pleased to have such strong support from new and existing investors. This round of funding will help us to fuel our expansion in Taiwan and other markets, as well as diversify our product portfolio and offerings based on the needs of each market.” “We see tremendous growth opportunities in the region and are delighted to partner with PChome as they share our deep commitment to innovation and delivery of world class O2O services. Through our tech-driven solutions and services, we will be able to significantly enhance the support we provide to SMEs and help them to meet the growing demand of the digital economy,” Crystal continued. Meeting Growing Demands in Singapore Sustainably Pickupp Singapore's expansion of the dispatch network would see an increase of at least 10 more dispatch points island-wide within the next 12 months. Besides enabling Pickupp to cope with growing demand in Singapore, the increase in dispatch points would also help Pickupp utilize its walker network more — contributing towards Pickupp's ability to fulfil greater delivery demands sustainably. Lee Chee Meng, Co-Chief Operating Officer at Pickupp Singapore, said: “We have seen a 20 percent increase in the demand for Pickupp’s express deliveries in Singapore just over the last month. The support we receive from our investors is timely and beneficial as it enables us to grow our satellite dispatch network across the country, minimizing the travelling distance for our agents to support faster and more efficient last-mile deliveries for our customers. This round of funding is a welcome boost towards our vision of being the go-to technology logistics enabler for businesses in Singapore.” The Singapore Government has accelerated its efforts to curb climate change by announcing an increase in petrol duty rates and introducing an electric vehicle early adoption incentive in February this year. The changes were introduced as Singapore aims to halve its 2030 peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and to achieve net-zero emissions as soon as viable. “Pickupp shares a common goal with the nation in striving to reduce the carbon emissions across our operations. We are working closely with our partners to increase the number of satellite warehouses and dispatch points across heartland areas to facilitate walker-friendly deliveries,” said Chee Meng. “Approximately 15 percent of our daily deliveries are being handled by walkers today, and we aim to double that by the end of the year,” Chee Meng continued. Partnering with Regional Strategic Investors to Seize Growing E-commerce Opportunities To date, Pickupp’s user base has grown by 250% since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, with over 100,000 delivery agents onboard across all regions. The startup has become a platform of choice, as the last mile for MNCs and the first step for startups and SMEs. Based in Hong Kong and operating in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, Pickupp has established strategic partnerships with global brands and merchants transitioning their businesses to O2O retail. In Taiwan, local e-commerce giant PChome has selected Pickupp as the logistics and e-commerce partner to strengthen its last-mile delivery solutions and further enhance their e-commerce capability. “As a major e-commerce operator in Taiwan, PChome strives to provide reliable services to our customers every day, and we truly believe a reliable fulfilment is a cornerstone. In our 20+ years of operating history, we have worked closely with a wide range of logistic partners to advance and innovate our services. Pickupp’s technology and solutions, in our belief, will play a significant role to reshape how last-mile delivery is achieved regionally and in Taiwan. It’s our honor to be Pickupp’s strategic partner and a lead investor in this round of funding. We look forward to the cooperation ahead,” said Kevin Tsai, PChome Online Inc. CEO & General Manager. Founded in 2016, Pickupp is redefining logistics with a tech and data-driven approach. Its customized last-mile delivery services and trademark technology have earned a loyal customer base from notable MNCs and logistics giants to retail and e-commerce. In 2020, Pickupp launched its one-stop e-commerce platform, Shop On Pickupp, enabling physical as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who wish to transition online to continue to scale and thrive.

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