BeautyMNL parent company falls amid questionable financing

Taste Central Curators Inc. (TCCI), the parent company of popular e-commerce platform BeautyMNL, has fallen amid questionable financing.

Their ‘discontinued’ operations have left a trail of unpaid suppliers, which raises alarms about the company’s financial management.

Prior to this shocking development, BeautyMNL was an established platform for beauty products. The Gokongwei-backed Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) even holds a 30% stake in the company.

According to RRHI, TCCI discontinued operations last year. This prompted them to write off their entire investment of PHP 405USD 7INR 585EUR 7CNY 50 million in TCCI from their financial records.

However, RRHI’s financial statements were contentious, notably with TCCI issuing non-interest bearing loans to a relative party. The beneficiary was Newbury Street Retail Inc. (NSRI), totaling PHP 50USD 0.85INR 72EUR 0.81CNY 6 million in loans over three years.

Alarms were raised about the financial management behind TCCI’s doors. Even more so with the company’s rising payables to their suppliers.

The payables ranged from PHP 135.82USD 2INR 196EUR 2CNY 17 million in 2019 to PHP 167.14USD 3INR 241EUR 3CNY 21 million in 2020. Additionally, TCCI had already collected commissions from the unpaid merchants.

The company profited from product sales, all while failing to fulfill their financial obligations to the suppliers providing their goods.

The reason behind TCCI’s closure remains unclear, but we’ll be sure to let readers know for any further developments in this story.