Various fashion projects from Great Britain, Germany, the USA, Canada, and Latin America got investments in February 2017. The companies have attracted the funds for expanding international sales, entering new niches and acquiring their competitors. In total, in February, investors have invested in fashion industry about $35 million.
The British platform for online stores, Ecrebo, has received $15 million from Octopus Ventures, Air Miles and Nectar funds. The money will be invested in the development of products and technologies for the digital marketing platform and will help to accelerate its global expansion. Ecrebo, launched in 2010, allows retailers to personalize their marketing communications with customers, designed specifically for the customers basing on the previous purchases. The company cooperates with such brands as Uniqlo, Pandora, Topman and M&S; it processed transactions for near $40 billion and sales for more than $600 million. Ecrebo technology enables retailers to make communications personalized, useful and convenient.
StockX, an American sneakers resale online store, has attracted $6 million to expand its online sales. The investments were received from Detroit Venture Partners and SV Angel funds.
US sneakers resale market is evaluated for $6 billion, but the money will be invested in expanding the store in the other niches - resale of watches and bags. StockX will become the "stock market of things", where users can participate in bids in real time, like at the actual stock market. The company also hopes to expand abroad sales and let foreign sellers and buyers to take part in the bids.
Berlin online seller, Curated Shopping Group, has attracted $5 million from the Berlin investment company, Auden AG, for online service of sales of men's clothing. In exchange, Auden AG will receive 10.2% of the company's shares. The shares are acquired as a result of direct investments.
Wiivv, the manufacturer of shoe insoles from Canadian Vancouver, has attracted $4 million to acquire its competitor, eSoles. Wiivv Wearables produces customized insoles using 3D printing technology. They can be ordered using a mobile application. Such companies as iMcustom, Phits and SUNfeet already manufacture customized 3D-printed insoles for sports or general use. However, most of them use variations of a built-in 3D scanning cabin for accurate measurements of the client's fееt. The main disadvantage of the cabins is that a customer has to come to take the measurements. Wiivv allows customers to scan their feet using smartphone through the computer vision technology. Wiivv app captures the client's foot contours for free; it displays over 200 points on the arch and heel of each foot; these data are then used to improve and personalize a pair of insoles. With the acquisition of eSoles, Wiivv will receive data for more than 50,000 foot scans, which will improve the accuracy of future products.
The Japanese brand LaFabric, that sells custom-made shirts based on previously acquired user measurements, has attracted $3.5 million. The investments were made by Chibagin Capital, Future Venture Capital, IMJ Investment Partners Japan, Nissay Capital and individual investors. The main aim of the sales expanding was resolving the issue of the first measuring. This will be resolved through training the retailers, opening pop-up stores and improving the work with data received from smartphones.
DSTLD, a premium denim brand from Los Angeles, has attracted $1.59 million for the brand development. In total, the company raised more than 6.9 million dollars from investors, including CrunchFund, Arena Ventures, CAA Ventures, Baroda Ventures, Wavemaker Partners and Amplify LA.
The leading Latin American women's clothing brand, Rapsodia, has announced investments from the L Catterton fund. Through this partnership, Grupo de Narváez, a company managing the brand, plans to expand Rapsodia brand internationally. The company has already opened 90 stores in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay. The brand produces dresses, accessories, children's shoes, household goods and underwear.