Louis Vuitton snaps up Singapore start-up

Louis Vuitton has bought Singapore online cosmetics retailer Luxola and LVMH’s subsidiary Sephora has made a further investment in the business.

Few details of the transactions have been revealed, including the size of the investments, howeverCrunchbase reports Luxola raised US$15.6 million in four earlier rounds of venture funding.

Luxola was launched in 2011 by Alexis Horowitz-Burdick, has a staff of 120 and sells a wide variety of beauty products and accessories under 250 brands in 11 markets.

Horowitz-Burdick, now Luxola CEO, said Sephora’s investment would allow the founders to take the company’s vision further.

“With greater market reach and brand depth, we will offer an unparalleled customer experience.”

Sephora Asia president Anne-Veronique Bruel said investing in Luxola gave her brand the opportunity to accelerate Sephora’s growth in Asia and penetrate the growing online beauty market.

“We are thrilled to welcome Luxola to the Sephora family.”