The archive · Commerce & Marketplaces · Strategic decision · 2019–2026
Coolmate bets Vietnamese men buy basics D2C online: $28M+ raised, 1.2M customers
Vietnam's D2C men's apparel brand bet online-first basics with a 60-day return policy could beat market stalls: 1.2M customers, ~US$40M revenue in 2025
Coolmate
What the business is
Online D2C men's apparel brand in Vietnam — activewear, casualwear and underwear designed locally, made in Vietnamese factories and sold direct to consumers.
How it started
Founded in 2019 by Pham Chi Nhu. He saw Vietnamese men defaulting to low-quality market-stall basics or premium foreign brands, with nothing local in between — and bet that a Vietnamese label selling direct could fill the gap.
What happened
Coolmate led e-commerce sales across Vietnam's major marketplaces for several years. In October 2024 it raised a US$6M Series B led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India to expand products and omnichannel retail. In 2025 it raised US$22.34M in a Series B+ — VinVentures ranked it the year's largest Vietnamese raise — then completed a Series C led by Vertex Growth Fund with Cool Japan Fund and YoungOne CVC.
How it ended up
Still scaling: ~US$40M revenue and 1.2M customers in 2025; first physical store opened late December 2025; expanding into women's products (Go Women), offline retail (Go Offline) and international markets (Go Global) with a 2030 target of US$500M revenue.
Background
Coolmate is a Vietnamese D2C men's apparel brand founded in 2019 by Pham Chi Nhu, selling activewear, casualwear and underwear designed locally, made in export-grade Vietnamese factories and sold direct online — with an industry-first 60-day no-questions-asked return policy.
The bet was that Vietnamese men would move from low-quality market-stall basics or pricier foreign brands to an online-first local label. For several years Coolmate led e-commerce sales across Vietnam's major marketplaces; in October 2024 it raised US$6M in Series B funding led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India, and in 2025 it raised US$22.34M in a Series B+ that VinVentures ranked as Vietnam's largest startup raise of the year, followed by a Series C led by Vertex Growth Fund.
In 2025 Coolmate served 1.2 million customers, sold more than 5.7 million products and generated nearly US$40 million in revenue (Tatler Asia). It opened its first physical store in late December 2025 and is pursuing three growth bets: women's products (Go Women), offline retail (Go Offline) and international expansion (Go Global), targeting US$500 million revenue by 2030.
What has to be true
- Men's basics are repeat-purchase and price-sensitive, so a D2C model with factory-direct costs could win on value without a brand premium.
- The 60-day no-questions return policy removed the main risk of buying a no-name online brand, converting skeptics.
- Vertically integrating design, local manufacturing and logistics created an alternative between market-stall quality and premium foreign brands.
- Vietnam's fast-growing middle class wanted quality and service while staying local and value-conscious — exactly the segment Coolmate addressed.
- Consecutive market leadership on major e-commerce platforms gave the brand compounding customer evidence before its big rounds.
What can be applied
A no-name brand can win a boring category incumbents ignore — men's basics — when the incumbent offering is low quality; a 60-day return policy and local manufacturing substitute for brand heritage.
Aftermath
As of July 2026 Coolmate is scaling: it reported ~US$40M revenue, 1.2M customers and 5.7M products sold in 2025, completed a Series C led by Vertex Growth Fund (with Cool Japan Fund and YoungOne CVC), opened its first physical store in December 2025, and is expanding into women's apparel, offline channels and overseas markets with a 2030 target of US$500M revenue.
Sources
- Coolmate Secures US$6 Million Series B Funding Led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India
- Hồ sơ startup Việt gọi vốn lớn nhất năm 2025
- Pham Chi Nhu — Founder and CEO, Coolmate
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