The platform connecting apparel makers and suppliers closes after experiencing difficulties in building a commercially viable business.
Wholly-owned HSBC subsidiary Serai has shut down after failing to establish a sustainable business, according to a statement on the trade platform’s website.
«Despite a huge amount of progress made by the team, it has proven difficult to build a commercially viable business. As a result, we've made the difficult decision to close our doors,» Serai said, adding that its services will not be available from June 25 onwards.
Serai Vision
Serai was founded three years ago as a trading platform aiming to connect apparel makers and suppliers in the fragmented clothing and garments industry with features such as ESG metrics and analytics to enable end-to-end traceability from raw materials to the finished product.
But months after launching in June 2019, the business was hit by political unrest in Hong Kong followed by worldwide Covid-related supply chain disruptions.
According to a «Reuters» report citing unnamed sources, HSBC invested around $70 million into the startup over the course of the three-year period. In a related move, Serai chief executive Vivek Ramachandran returned to HSBC to head its global trade and receivables finance unit last month.
