Vivy and husband apologise for FashionValet investment failure

‘We are sorry’: Vivy was FashionValet’s chief executive officer, while Fadzaruddin acted as its executive director. — Picture taken from Vivy’s Instagram

PETALING JAYA: Amid debate about the controversial sale of FashionValet involving public funds, the entrepreneurial couple behind the company have apologised for the debacle and stepped down from their positions.

In a joint statement expressing their contrition over the issue, Datin Vivy Yusof and her husband, Datuk Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar, said they took full responsibility for the failure of the investment by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).

“We want to state from the outset that we take full responsibility for the failure of the investment.

“As the two people who were responsible for managing the company, the buck stops with us – and the fact is we failed our investors.

“We are disappointed in ourselves and regret that it has come to this. We are truly sorry,” they said in the statement posted on Instagram yesterday.

Vivy was FashionValet’s chief executive officer, while Fadzaruddin acted as its executive director.

On Tuesday, the Finance Ministry said Khazanah and PNB have sold their collective stakes in Malaysia’s first fashion e-commerce platform, Fashion Valet Sdn Bhd (FashionValet), for RM3.1mil.

The sale marked a significant loss from the RM47mil the two government-linked investment companies had paid for the entity.

Vivy and Fadzaruddin also explained that they had invested heavily in their technology stack, rapidly expanded their team and added too many retail stores.

They said they had scaled up the company in anticipation of growth, only to fail when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

“As much as we tried to cut costs to conserve cash, including shutting down our e-commerce platform, the situation had become dire.

“There are so many things we wish we had done differently, so many other factors we wish we had considered before embarking on our expansion plans,” the statement read.

Vivy and Fadzaruddin also apologised for how the controversy has affected both Khazanah and PNB.

“They have always acted professionally and in the best interests of their organisations.

“We hope this disappointment does not become a deterrent and that they will continue to support other local entrepreneurs.”

On Thursday, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil urged involved parties to address public concerns about the issue.

Stressing the importance of transparency, he noted the discussions on social media regarding the sale, especially since it involved the use of public money.