I’vre smells trouble from customers and investors

We look at the troubles befalling perfume startup I’vre. [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Welcome to Tech in Asia's free Daily Newsletter! Get full access to our subscribers-only Daily Newsletter and other insightful analysis on the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community by [registering here](.  --------------------------------------------------------------- IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we spotlight: - [Fragrance startup I’vre’s abrupt goodbye]( and the creditors, customers, and ex-employees left in its wake - Two Indonesia social commerce firms locking horns - Other newsy highlights such as ByteDance hitting $110 billion in sales for 2023 --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} Remember when things weren’t all subscription-based? It feels like it was not that long ago when many online - or even offline - products and services were just based on single purchases. With Adobe, for instance, you used to only need to buy a single license. But it feels like the rise of streaming services and the SaaS model has led to many things going down the subscription route. Now, even more businesses are doing the same. Take I’vre, for instance. The Singapore-based fragrance startup offers a perfume subscription service that allows customers to choose one to three scents a month. Sounds interesting? Many customers thought so too - at first. But some of them now have complaints against the firm. Some customers have said that they were overcharged by the company, while others claimed that their orders were not fulfilled. On top of that, creditors of the firm and ex-employees have said that they’re facing late payments or are owed their salaries. Yet somehow, I’vre also recently announced that it has been acquired, although it did not disclose further details. What a pickle. We take a closer look in today’s story. -- Jonathan  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIG STORY [Perfume startup bids ‘goodbye’ amid whiff of customer, investor complaints]( Singapore-based I’vre has been facing complaints from customers, ex-staff, and creditors. Then it said it had been acquired, but wouldn't reveal the buyer. --------------------------------------------------------------- TRENDING NEWS [ByteDance hits $110b in sales for 2023, on track to top Tencent]( The news comes after ByteDance reportedly closed its revenue gap with Meta in the second quarter of this year. [Home Credit Indonesia secures $100m from MUFG]( The consumer finance firm said that it will “fully use” the funds for ESG-based financing. ---------------------------------------------------------------  VISUAL STORY OF THE DAY [Hot or not: What SEA investors are betting on and what they’re ignoring]( VC funding can be a leading indicator of where in the tech industry we’re going to see more spending and jobs. ---------------------------------------------------------------  KICKSTART 2024 WITH SINGAPORE’S FINEST LEADERS Apply to join the closed-door executive roundtable for January 16 Are you prepared to leverage genAI and data intelligence in 2024? Businesses must embrace change and take advantage of the transformative capabilities of these new technologies if they want to retain discerning consumers who are spoiled for choice. 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