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Maipple ties up with Tokyo model agency, launches influencer matching platform for Asia

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See the original story in Japanese. Maipple, the Japanese startup developing and offering a fashion marketplace app for Taiwanese consumers under the same name, announced last week that it has an influencer marketing platform for Asia called Tag Asia. As th platform gets its start, Maipple will partner with Asobisystem, the Tokyo-based model agency best known for managing J-pop artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, with the agency handling the management contracts for influencers. In December of 2015, Maipple launched the influencer marketing-powered fashion marketplace app through its Taiwanese subsidiary Stylepick, subsequently switched gears to a luxury fashion marketplace. The company has formed a network of about 500 influencers in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong for the marketplace app, but extracted the marketing function from the app so that companies which are not even using Maipple can take advantage of it, and this is Tag Asia. Maipple’s founder and CEO Kotaro Nagamatsu shared the following. We were originally doing influencer marketing, but it was only introductory-based. The release of Tag Asia stems from the growth of our marketing needs due to the effectiveness of Maipple and other projects leveraging influencers. Meanwhile, for Asobisystem, whose models are a driving force behind Tokyo’s Harajuku…

See the original story in Japanese.

Maipple, the Japanese startup developing and offering a fashion marketplace app for Taiwanese consumers under the same name, announced last week that it has an influencer marketing platform for Asia called Tag Asia. As th platform gets its start, Maipple will partner with Asobisystem, the Tokyo-based model agency best known for managing J-pop artist Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, with the agency handling the management contracts for influencers.

In December of 2015, Maipple launched the influencer marketing-powered fashion marketplace app through its Taiwanese subsidiary Stylepick, subsequently switched gears to a luxury fashion marketplace. The company has formed a network of about 500 influencers in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong for the marketplace app, but extracted the marketing function from the app so that companies which are not even using Maipple can take advantage of it, and this is Tag Asia.

Maipple’s founder and CEO Kotaro Nagamatsu shared the following.

We were originally doing influencer marketing, but it was only introductory-based. The release of Tag Asia stems from the growth of our marketing needs due to the effectiveness of Maipple and other projects leveraging influencers.

Active influencers from around Asia on Tag Asia
Image credit: Maipple

Meanwhile, for Asobisystem, whose models are a driving force behind Tokyo’s Harajuku and “Kawaii Culture” and attend events worldwide, and their own Rina Tanaka being appointed a Taipei City Tourism Ambassador, the desire to appoint models and influencers from Japan with a focus on Taiwanese companies as a way to reach all of Asia is increasing. It is in the mutual interests of both companies, then, to use Maipple’s management contracts with influencers with Asobisystem’s models for influencer marketing.

In June 2016, Maipple revealed that the company had succeeded in raising seed funds from GX Incubate, which operates Gaiax’s Sharing Economy Fund, and three angel investors.

Asobisystem recently partnered with e-commerce platform Base and Candee’s “Live Shop!” in the field of live commerce where performers introduce products in a livestreamed video. For some time now the company has also been cooperating with C Channel, a Japanese video fashion media for women expanding into various Asian countries, and with the new partnership between Maipple and Asobisystem we can expect to see more advancement of their models throughout Asia.

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda

Japanese flea market app Maipple gets seed funding to boost user growth in Taiwan

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See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo- / Taipei-based Maipple, the startup offering a fashion-focused flea market app in Taiwan under the same name, announced today that it has secured seed round funding from GX Incubate and three angel investors. GX Incubate is a fully-owned subsidiary of Japanese Internet company Gaiax (TSE:3775) and runs its fund focused on investing in sharing economy businesses. Financial details of the deal and the names of participating angel investors have not been disclosed. Maipple was born out of the 11th batch of Taiwanese startup accelerator AppWorks. Launched in December, the app has been focused on dealing with consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions of fashion items in Taiwan. For payments between sellers and buyers, Maipple offers an escrow service, standing in the middle of both parties while the buyers are allowed to complete a payment by credit card, convenience store payment or bank remittance. Due to a time-limited offer upon launch of the app, no commission for escrow payments is required for now. For an item delivery, sellers can present several options from door-to-door delivery, the Taiwanese postal service and delivery to the buyer’s nearest convenience store. As for C2C services in Taiwan, there have been online…

maipple_featuredimage-for-english

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo- / Taipei-based Maipple, the startup offering a fashion-focused flea market app in Taiwan under the same name, announced today that it has secured seed round funding from GX Incubate and three angel investors. GX Incubate is a fully-owned subsidiary of Japanese Internet company Gaiax (TSE:3775) and runs its fund focused on investing in sharing economy businesses. Financial details of the deal and the names of participating angel investors have not been disclosed.

Maipple was born out of the 11th batch of Taiwanese startup accelerator AppWorks. Launched in December, the app has been focused on dealing with consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions of fashion items in Taiwan. For payments between sellers and buyers, Maipple offers an escrow service, standing in the middle of both parties while the buyers are allowed to complete a payment by credit card, convenience store payment or bank remittance.

maipple_screenshots

Due to a time-limited offer upon launch of the app, no commission for escrow payments is required for now. For an item delivery, sellers can present several options from door-to-door delivery, the Taiwanese postal service and delivery to the buyer’s nearest convenience store. As for C2C services in Taiwan, there have been online auction sites like Yahoo Taiwan Auction and Ruten Auction backed by PCHome and eBay but Maipple claims that it is the first flea market app focused on selling and buying fashion items in Taiwan.

Given that the app can complete deals in a mobile environment, it reminds us of Mercari which has successfully seized many customers from Yahoo Japan Auction. Kotaro Nagamatsu, founder and CEO of Maipple, explained that he wants to boost promotion of the service leveraging over 300 women influencers which his company has acquired through the experience, helping Japanese apparel makers to market their brands in the Taiwanese market.

maipple_influencers
Some of incluencers helping Maipple’s marketing effort in Taiwan.

The funds raised this time are to be used for promotional activities, enhanced system development and further expansion to other Southeast Asian markets. While Maipple will be focused on C2C deals for the time being, they want to expand to a B2C (business-to-consumer) business by helping Japanese fashion brands sell carry-over stock in Taiwan.

As a competitor in this region, Japanese startup Smaoku has recently introduced a mobile app that allows Japanese users to sell their secondhand brand items to buyers in Asian countries. For Southeast Asia, where Maipple plans to expand into from now on, there’s also other competitors such as Carousell. It will be interesting to see how the company can create a hype in user growth by leveraging the ‘Japan brand.’

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy