I'vre raised money, threw a yacht party, and closed a year later amid a police probe

I'vre was an online luxury perfume subscription service founded in Singapore in 2022 by Christian Kwok, then 22, and Elaine Yuan, then 23. The company offered monthly subscriptions — S$19.95 for a single 8ml sample bottle, S$44.95 for three — and grew quickly through social media ads. It raised funding from Seed Ventures, and celebrated its first anniversary with a yacht party.

By November 2023, customers began reporting problems. Some were charged far more than their subscription fee — one nurse was billed S$494.50, eleven times her monthly fee, after cancelling. Others never received orders they paid for. The Consumer Association of Singapore received 17 complaints by December 2023, rising to 28 by May 2024. The Singapore police opened an investigation.

I'vre blamed a 'system bug' in its Shopify and Seal subscription platforms and said a staffing cut from ten to four employees had left it unable to handle customer inquiries. By December 2023, its lead investor Seed Ventures had cut funding. The company announced it would close on April 9, 2024. Co-founder Christian Kwok later revealed he had legally changed his name following past criminal convictions for theft and cheating. Customers who had paid for orders and never received them were left seeking chargebacks from their banks.