Singaporean healthcare platform Novena Global Lifecare has completed a US$475.4 million merger with Chinese express hair salon Xingkeduo.
WHO: Founded in 2015, Xingkeduo is an express haircut business with 100 locations in China. The business claims to be the first company in China to combine hairdressing with online-to-offline commerce for online orders and reservations.
Novena Global Lifecare is an integrated medical healthcare and aesthetic company with over 100 clinics in 20 cities. Novena Global Lifecare is one of the successful portfolio companies in DORR Group, which is a privately held investment holding company managing over US$4 billion of assets across various industries from consumer and healthcare to technology and media.
WHY: The merger will accelerate the expansion of Xingkeduo and Novena’s NOVU Aesthetics brand in China. There are plans for the merged entity to include the launch of a hybrid format blending medtech-based cosmetic and hairdressing services driven by AI technology.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Xingkeduo’s founder Willy Chuang said: “China has the most developed and active e-commerce retail system in the world. With our proprietary AI-based Beauty OS system, Xingkeduo has been able to evolve and scale up from a hair salon offering express haircuts to one offering its own brand of professional scalp care and hair styling products to target customers’ needs, not only in stores but also on e-commerce platforms. With Novena Global Lifecare’s participation, we are confident that we can grow our combined business exponentially in China and beyond.”
Mr Chuang added, “We analysed the prospects of the service industries and the healthcare sector, and we believe that the future unicorns will be multi-brand matrices, and the customer experience will not be limited to the store, but consist of a seamless online-to-offline experience, covering a full range of on-demand products and services, including customised aesthetic and medical solutions.”
“Through this merger, Novena Global Lifecare will immediately reinforce our leading presence in the aesthetics beauty and wellness industry in Asia Pacific. More significantly, it would further improve our retail and service quality, and disrupt the current industry model and cost structure. We strongly believe that in the future, whether in Singapore, China, or even in Asia and Latin America, we can use this model to empower customers to have more customised products and services.”
“As an investor in the medical industry, and with our experience in operating a global chain of aesthetic healthcare stores, both data and intuitive experience tell me that this industry is a field where consumers need more affordable and convenient services, and has very broad growth prospects. With the experience of Xingkeduo in China’s beauty market, the resources of the company’s shareholders and the Beauty OS system built for the company’s business, we are confident that we will continue to be a trailblazer in China’s medical beauty and medical care markets, bringing more choices for Chinese consumers,” Mr Nelson Loh added.
“Asia has become the capital of the world’s beauty industry, with China and Southeast Asia recording the fastest development and the most promising market for Asian beauty and medical care. China is a huge market and we believe we are well positioned to seize opportunities especially in its highly fragmented aesthetic healthcare market. There’s definitely room for a well-run, well-funded integrated practice that provides affordable and accessible healthcare and medical aesthetics services to the mass market.”
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