Exclusive Notes From Neverlater

Consumer Technology, Restructuring, International Expansion / Nothing, CMF

Our Read on Nothing’s Restructuring Under Pressure

Reports circulated that Nothing was preparing to exit 12 international markets and cut a large share of its workforce. Nothing rejected the market-exit claim. Co-founder Akis Evangelidis said: - Nothing is not shutting down any markets - Individual country operations are being consolidated into regional hubs - Certain positions have been affected - The reported job-cut numbers were overstated - A dedicated AI-native business unit is being created He also disputed claims of weak Phone 4B demand, saying the device sold 29,537 units on its first day and set a record within its price segment. The restructuring comes as rising component costs place pressure on the midrange smartphone category. Nothing has also said that CMF will not launch a new phone this year due to component constraints, while CEO Carl Pei has highlighted significant increases in memory costs.

Why it matters: Nothing has built its position through a combination of: - Distinctive industrial design - Strong founder-led storytelling - Community participation - Accessible-premium positioning - A challenger narrative against larger smartphone brands - Rapid international expansion That model created attention. But global consumer hardware is difficult to scale. Each country may require: - Retail partnerships - Distribution - Service centres - Inventory - Local marketing - Regulatory compliance - Channel incentives - Customer support A company can look global on a map while still operating with limited local depth. Regional consolidation may improve efficiency. But it can also weaken the local market knowledge and partner relationships required to win.

Funding, Logistics, Electric Vehicles / Kargo Technologies

Our Read on Kargo’s US$7 Million Bridge Round

Kargo Technologies reportedly raised up to US$7 million through a convertible-note bridge round. The financing was led by existing investor AC Ventures, with Cathay Venture joining as a new backer. The funds are intended to support the expansion of Kargo’s electric-vehicle-as-a-service operations. Kargo’s EV proposition is broader than vehicle rental. The company has described an offering that can include: - Electric commercial vehicles - Charging support - Fleet-management software - Route and fulfilment services - Carbon reporting - Operational support The company and its investors have also reported materially lower operating costs from selected EV deployments, although these results should be treated as company-reported proof points rather than independent fleet-wide validation.

Why it matters: Commercial fleet electrification is often discussed as a vehicle-replacement problem. In reality, it is a system-design problem. A logistics operator cannot simply replace a diesel vehicle with an electric one and expect the economics to work automatically. The model depends on: - Route length - Vehicle utilisation - Charging availability - Charging time - Load requirements - Battery performance - Electricity pricing - Financing costs - Residual value - Maintenance - Driver behaviour Kargo is therefore not only betting that electric trucks are cheaper to operate. It is betting that it can package the vehicle, infrastructure, technology, and operating support into a service customers are willing to adopt. That is a more valuable proposition. It is also more capital-intensive and operationally demanding.

Public Markets, Coffee, Consumer Retail / Fore Coffee, Fore Donut

Our Read on Fore Coffee’s First Major Results After Its IPO

Fore Coffee reported that first-half 2026 revenue surpassed Rp1 trillion. The company also reported: - 65% year-on-year EBITDA growth - 34% year-on-year net-profit growth - Continued expansion of Fore Coffee - Further development of Fore Donut as a second consumer-facing brand The results represent an important early checkpoint following Fore’s IPO. Public investors now have more operating evidence to assess whether the growth narrative presented around the listing is translating into results.

Why it matters: Before an IPO, companies are often evaluated on what they could become. After listing, they are increasingly evaluated on what they consistently deliver. For Fore, that changes the conversation. The company is no longer only proving that Indonesian coffee demand is large or that its store format can expand. It now needs to show that growth remains productive. That means public investors will increasingly care about: - Revenue growth relative to store growth - EBITDA and net-profit conversion - Store payback periods - Same-store productivity - Cash generation - Expansion discipline - Returns from new formats and categories The latest numbers suggest Fore is moving in the right direction. But one strong half does not yet prove that the model can sustain the same quality of growth over several years.

F&B, International Expansion, Franchising / Chick-fil-A

Our Read on Chick-fil-A’s Singapore Expansion

Chick-fil-A will open its second Singapore restaurant at Millenia Walk on 30 July 2026. The location follows the company’s first Asian restaurant at Bugis+, which opened in December 2025. The expansion is part of Chick-fil-A’s stated US$75 million, ten-year investment in Singapore and the wider region. The new Millenia Walk restaurant will be operated by Singapore F&B professional Deborah Ku, while the first Bugis+ outlet is run by a different local owner-operator. Chick-fil-A’s Singapore restaurants follow the company’s established practice of closing on Sundays and using locally based owner-operators who work directly within their communities.

Why it matters: Many global restaurant brands expand through conventional franchising. Chick-fil-A uses a more controlled model. Its local owner-operators are expected to be deeply involved in one restaurant rather than building large multi-unit portfolios. That structure gives Chick-fil-A stronger control over: - Service culture - Hiring - Training - Community presence - Daily execution - Brand standards The company’s international expansion is therefore not only about transferring recipes and store design. It is about transferring an operating culture. That is more difficult. Products can be standardised. Culture depends on people, incentives, selection, and daily management.

IPO, Creator Economy, Media and Entertainment / RANS Entertainment

Our Read on RANS Entertainment’s Public-Market Debut

RANS Entertainment completed its IPO and listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on 10 July 2026. The company offered 2.525 billion shares, representing 20.02% of its enlarged capital, at an offer price of Rp170 per share, raising approximately Rp429 billion. RANS reported FY2025 revenue of approximately Rp353.4 billion, down 13.9% year on year, while net profit declined by 41.6% to around Rp56.7 billion. According to research based on the prospectus, IPO proceeds were expected to support debt repayment and growth initiatives including Cipungland, concert expansion, AI-related ventures, and strategic acquisitions.

Why it matters: RANS is not a conventional media company. Its business was built around the reach and personalities of Raffi Ahmad and Nagita Slavina, then expanded into a wider ecosystem spanning: - Digital content - Brand partnerships - Events - Intellectual property - Sports and entertainment - Consumer ventures - Community activation The IPO matters because creator-led businesses are often highly effective at generating attention but harder to institutionalise. Audience reach can create: - Low-cost distribution - Brand trust - Sponsorship revenue - Product launches - Event demand - Cross-promotion But public markets require more than reach. They require: - Predictable earnings - Governance - Disclosure - Management depth - Capital discipline - Reduced dependence on individual founders RANS is therefore a useful test of whether Indonesia’s creator economy can evolve into institutionally investable businesses.

Quick Commerce, E-Commerce, Grocery Delivery / Shopee, Sea Limited

Our Read on Shopee’s Move Into One Hour Delivery

Shopee has launched Belanja Instant 1 Jam Tiba in Indonesia, allowing consumers to order groceries, fresh produce, frozen food, household essentials, and selected over-the-counter healthcare products from nearby retail partners. Reported participating partners include Klik Indomaret, Hypermart, Hero, and Segari. The service sits within Shopee’s existing Instant shopping channel rather than as a separate consumer app. Shopee’s official page promotes: - Delivery within a maximum of one hour for eligible orders - Compensation when the delivery arrives late - Weekly-shopping discounts - Access to everyday household and grocery products This is an important distinction. Shopee is not building a dark-store-led quick-commerce company from scratch. It is connecting consumers to inventory held by existing retailers and merchants inside its wider platform.

Why it matters: Quick commerce has traditionally been built around three core capabilities: - Hyperlocal inventory - Fast picking and fulfilment - Dense last-mile delivery But Shopee brings a different starting position. It already has: - Large consumer traffic - Existing payment behaviour - Voucher and promotion mechanics - Marketplace search and recommendation - Seller and retailer relationships - Logistics infrastructure - A membership layer through ShopeeVIP ShopeeVIP currently promotes benefits including unlimited instant-delivery shipping support and daily discounts, suggesting that speed is increasingly being connected to a wider loyalty and membership proposition. That matters because one of quick commerce’s hardest challenges is not simply delivering quickly. It is generating enough frequent demand within a small geographic area to support the economics of fast fulfilment. Shopee already owns consumer attention. The new challenge is converting that attention into higher-frequency grocery and essentials behaviour.

M&A, Functional Nutrition, Better-for-You / Danone, MADE Group, Rokeby, Cocobella, The Collective

Our Read on Danone’s Everyday Protein Bet

Danone has agreed to acquire MADE Group as part of its effort to strengthen its healthy-nutrition portfolio across Asia-Pacific. MADE is an Australia-based food and beverage company with a portfolio spanning: - High-protein ready-to-drink products - Probiotic and gut-health yoghurt - Coconut water and coconut yoghurt - Cold-pressed juice - Enhanced water - Other health-oriented everyday products Its brands include Rokeby, Cocobella, The Collective, Impressed, and NutrientWater. MADE recorded more than €300 million in sales for the fiscal year ending June 2026. Danone said the company has consistently delivered double-digit growth and attractive margins, supported by established supply-chain and route-to-market capabilities. Reuters reported that demand for high-protein yoghurt is growing strongly in Australia and New Zealand, where Danone currently has limited exposure to the segment. MADE is also expanding across Southeast Asia, where management sees it as an early mover in protein-led products. Danone expects the acquisition to contribute positively to its operating margin and earnings per share from the first year after completion. The transaction value has not been disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

Why it matters: At first glance, this looks like a large food company buying a collection of health-oriented beverage and dairy brands. But the strategic signal is broader. For years, protein was marketed mainly through: - Powdered supplements - Protein bars - Performance shakes - Sports-nutrition products - Specialist meal replacements These formats often require consumers to adopt a separate routine. MADE’s portfolio reflects a different approach. Rokeby sells protein through ready-to-drink smoothies, probiotic yoghurt, and functional milk. The Collective operates inside the familiar yoghurt aisle. Cocobella builds around coconut water and yoghurt. These are recognisable food and beverage occasions rather than specialist supplement formats. That distinction matters commercially. A supplement asks consumers to begin a new behaviour. An everyday food product can upgrade a behaviour that already exists. Instead of asking someone to begin mixing protein powder every morning, a brand can offer a higher-protein version of the drink, yoghurt, snack, or breakfast product they already consume. The behavioural barrier is lower because the format is already familiar. The deal therefore supports a broader category shift: Protein is becoming less of a standalone category and more of a functional attribute across everyday food.

Fashion, Footwear, Retail Expansion / Sappun

Our Read on Sappun’s Indonesia First Expansion

South Korean women’s footwear brand Sappun has chosen Indonesia as the starting point for its international retail expansion. The company has already opened five monobrand stores and is targeting a network of 30 Indonesian stores within five years. But the more important question is not how quickly Sappun can open stores. It is whether Indonesia can become a repeatable operating base for the brand’s wider Southeast Asian expansion. Sappun is expanding into Southeast Asia through Indonesia, marking what the company describes as the first overseas expansion of a Korean women’s footwear brand. The Korean label is operated by FNS Retail and entered Indonesia through an exclusive partnership with Surya Bumi Retailindo, a local retail operator that manages more than 20 international brands across sports, fashion, and lifestyle categories. The partnership gives Surya Bumi Retailindo exclusive distribution rights for Sappun in Indonesia and establishes the foundation for longer-term retail expansion. Sappun has opened standalone stores across major Indonesian shopping destinations, including: - Lippo Mall Puri - Plaza Senayan - Grand Indonesia - Tunjungan Plaza 3 - Pakuwon Mall Bekasi The brand has also expanded through shop-in-shop formats at Central Department Store and Sogo. Its current Indonesian store directory lists locations across Jakarta, Bandung, Bekasi, and Surabaya. According to Inside Retail Asia, sales at its early Indonesian stores were comparable to Sappun’s flagship locations in South Korea. The company plans to build a network of 30 stores in Indonesia within five years, while also preparing to enter Vietnam.

Why it matters: This is not simply another Korean fashion brand opening stores in Indonesia. Sappun is using Indonesia as the first test of whether its brand and retail format can travel internationally. That makes the expansion strategically interesting for several reasons. Indonesia offers: - A large urban consumer base - Strong familiarity with Korean culture and fashion - Deep mall-led retail infrastructure - A growing affordable-premium segment - Established marketplace and social-commerce channels - Local operators experienced in managing global brands For Sappun, entering through a local partner reduces the need to build every capability internally. The brand can rely on Surya Bumi Retailindo for: - Mall and landlord relationships - Store development - Hiring and training - Local merchandising - Inventory and distribution - Marketplace operations - Market knowledge That gives Sappun a faster route into the market. But it also makes the quality of the partnership central to the brand’s performance. The broader signal is that Indonesia is increasingly becoming more than a destination market for Asian consumer brands. It is also becoming a place where brands test whether their formats can scale across Southeast Asia.

IPO, Beauty, Omnichannel Retail / Sociolla, Social Bella

Our Read on Sociolla’s Path to the Public Market

Sociolla is reportedly preparing for a potential IPO after recording more than 30% year-on-year revenue growth in 2025 and reaching EBITDA profitability. But the bigger question is not simply whether Sociolla can list. It is whether public-market investors will see it as a beauty retailer, or as the infrastructure behind a wider beauty ecosystem. Sociolla is reportedly laying the groundwork for a potential initial public offering, with Indonesia considered the most likely listing market. The company is also preparing to expand into Singapore in 2026, adding another market to its existing regional operations in Indonesia and Vietnam. According to comments attributed to co-founder and CEO Christopher Madiam: - Revenue grew by more than 30% year-on-year in 2025 - The business reached EBITDA profitability - Its 2026 performance had already moved ahead of the comparable period in 2025 at the time of reporting - The company expects to remain profitable throughout 2026 The potential IPO remains at a preparatory stage. Sociolla has not publicly confirmed: - A formal filing - Appointed banks or advisers - A listing date - An offer size - A valuation - A final listing venue That distinction matters. The current signal is not that Sociolla is definitively going public. It is that the company appears to be preparing itself for the possibility.

Why it matters: This would not only be another Indonesian consumer IPO. Sociolla operates across several connected layers: - Beauty e-commerce - Physical retail - Brand distribution - Beauty content - Product reviews - Community - Personalised recommendations - Consumer data - Omnichannel loyalty Its wider Social Bella structure includes Sociolla, SOCO, Beauty Journal, and an end-to-end distribution business serving beauty and personal-care brands. That makes the potential public-market story more layered than that of a conventional retailer. A traditional beauty retailer is mainly evaluated through: - Revenue growth - Gross margins - Inventory turns - Store productivity - Rent and labour efficiency - Working capital - Cash generation Sociolla may argue that its value comes from a broader system connecting discovery, trust, transactions, distribution, and customer insight. But public investors will need evidence that these layers create stronger economics rather than simply making the company more complex. The potential listing is therefore a test of whether Indonesia can bring a scaled omnichannel beauty platform to the public market.

M&A, Food Delivery, Consumer Platforms

Our Read on Grab’s US$600 Million foodpanda Taiwan Acquisition

Grab has agreed to acquire Delivery Hero’s foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan for US$600 million in cash, on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The transaction marks Grab’s first major expansion outside Southeast Asia and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval. foodpanda Taiwan operated across 21 cities and generated approximately US$1.8 billion in gross merchandise value in 2025. The business was also profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis before Delivery Hero’s group-level cost allocations. Grab expects the acquired business to contribute at least US$60 million in adjusted EBITDA by 2028. It plans to migrate foodpanda’s users, merchants, and delivery partners onto the Grab platform by early 2027. For Delivery Hero, the sale represents an early step in its broader strategic review. The company plans to use the proceeds to repay debt and strengthen its capital structure.

Why it matters: This is not only a food-delivery acquisition. It is the first meaningful test of whether Grab’s operating system can travel beyond its Southeast Asian home market. Grab has spent years building capabilities across: - Consumer acquisition - Merchant onboarding - Delivery-partner operations - Pricing and incentive management - Payments - Membership - Advertising - Marketplace technology Until now, those capabilities have largely been deployed across Southeast Asia. Taiwan gives Grab an opportunity to test whether the same system can work in a different market with its own consumer behaviour, regulatory environment, merchant structure, and competitive dynamics. The acquisition also allows Grab to enter with existing density rather than building from zero. It is buying: - An established customer base - Existing merchant relationships - Delivery-partner supply - Local brand familiarity - Operating infrastructure across 21 cities - A business already generating meaningful transaction volume That materially reduces the time required to establish a functioning marketplace.

IPO, Coffee, Consumer Retail / Kopi Kenangan, Kenangan Coffee

Our Read on Kopi Kenangan’s Potential US$1 Billion IPO

Kopi Kenangan has reportedly held early-stage discussions with banks regarding a potential initial public offering. Singapore is among the possible listing venues being considered, although no banks have been formally appointed and no final decision has been made regarding the timing, size, location, or valuation of the offering. The reported discussions follow a strong year of operating performance. For FY2025, Kopi Kenangan reported: - US$184 million in net revenue - 45% year-on-year revenue growth - US$37 million in EBITDA - US$17 million in net profit - 1,324 stores across six countries The company described 2025 as its first full year of profitability. Kopi Kenangan also reportedly plans to open around 550 additional stores in 2026, which would represent another significant expansion of its physical network.

Why it matters: This would not only be another Indonesian consumer IPO. It could become an important test of whether public-market investors are ready to back an Indonesian brand with meaningful regional ambitions. Fore Coffee has already shown that an Indonesian coffee chain can reach the public market. Kopi Kenangan would bring a different proposition: - A larger store network - A presence across six countries - A profitable operating base - A stronger international expansion narrative - A potential valuation of up to US$1 billion The company has grown beyond its original position as an Indonesian grab-and-go coffee chain. It now needs to prove that its growth is supported by more than store openings. The public-market question is whether Kopi Kenangan has built a system that can travel across markets while preserving brand relevance, store economics, and operating discipline.

Funding, Coffee, Lifestyle Retail / Harlan + Holden

Our Read on Harlan + Holden’s US$12 Million Expansion Round

Harlan + Holden is reportedly finalising a US$12 million funding round to support its expansion across Southeast Asia. Founded in Manila in 2015, the company began as a fashion brand before expanding into coffee. It now operates retail stores across the Philippines and Indonesia, alongside its e-commerce business. The funding arrives as investors continue to back Southeast Asia’s coffee and tea sector, including recent capital raised by businesses such as Pickup Coffee and Jago Coffee. The headline is the capital. But the more interesting question is what kind of business Harlan + Holden is trying to build with it.

Why it matters: Harlan + Holden is not positioned like a conventional mass-market coffee chain. Its proposition sits across several layers: - Coffee - Fashion - Store design - Physical retail - Lifestyle positioning - Premium consumer experience That creates a differentiated brand, but also a more complicated expansion model. Many coffee chains scale through convenience, pricing, digital ordering, and dense store networks. Harlan + Holden appears to be building around something else: identity, environment, and design-led experience. That gives the brand a clearer aesthetic advantage. But it also creates a harder operating question: Can a highly curated lifestyle proposition become a repeatable regional retail system? The funding is therefore not only validation of another coffee company. It is a bet that a brand built around taste and experience can scale across markets without becoming generic.

M&A, Delivery Platforms, Consumer Technology / Uber, Delivery Hero

Our Read on Uber’s Delivery Hero Acquisition

Uber has launched a voluntary takeover offer for Delivery Hero at €41.50 per share, representing an equity value of approximately US$14.8 billion, or US$13.7 billion after adjusting for Uber’s prior stake purchases. The acquisition would bring Delivery Hero’s portfolio of regional platforms, including foodpanda, Talabat, Glovo, PedidosYa, HungerStation, and Baedal Minjok, into Uber’s broader mobility and delivery ecosystem. The businesses acquired by Uber operate across 50 markets and generated approximately US$42 billion in gross bookings in 2025. The combined group would span 99 countries, with pro-forma gross bookings of approximately US$236 billion in 2025. Separately, Delivery Hero has agreed to sell businesses in 14 overlapping markets to SSW Partners for approximately €1.4 billion, partly addressing competition concerns. The takeover remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, with completion expected in the second half of 2027.

Why it matters: This is not simply one food-delivery platform buying another. Uber is acquiring operating networks that have taken years to build: - Existing consumer demand - Merchant relationships - Courier and logistics density - Local brands with established awareness - Technology, payments, and operational infrastructure - Market knowledge across different regulatory and consumer environments Building these networks organically would require significant time, capital, and local execution. The deal would also nearly double the number of markets where Uber offers both mobility and delivery services, from 34 to 58. Uber says customers using multiple products generate roughly three times the gross bookings and profits of single-product users. That makes the acquisition relevant beyond food delivery. It strengthens Uber’s ability to connect rides, restaurant delivery, grocery, retail, advertising, and membership within one broader consumer ecosystem.

What Breaks Between Store 10 and Store 50

The first few stores prove that a concept can work. The next few dozen reveal whether the business has actually built a system.