Fashion Cloud has announced it has received an investment of €25 million, led by European specialist growthequity investor Verdane.
Verdane’s deep expertise in the B2B software business along with its large international network andits team of in-house specialists will support Fashion Cloud on its growth trajectory. Alongside Verdane, existing investors also participated in the funding round.
Founded in 2015, Fashion Cloud is the all-in-one solution for content and data exchange as well as digital pre- and reorder inthe fashion wholesale industry. 40% of Europe’s €500bn fashion market is wholesale, but the industry is fragmented andinefficient. Fashion Cloud solves this problem with a set of smart software solutions for fashion brands and retailers,enabling them to digitize everything from sharing marketing material and product data, to optimizing orders and inventory and working together more efficiently.
In the last three years, the company has seen accelerating growth and now more than 20,000 retailers and 600 brandsare using Fashion Cloud’s platform. Customers include international retailers and brands like Zalando, Magasin duNord, Hugo Boss and Scotch & Soda.
Fashion Cloud says that the new capital will be used to further develop established features like ‘content’ and ‘order’, which allow retailers to access marketing material and product data from more than 600 brands while also ordering articles with one click in the supplier’s brand shops. Furthermore, Fashion Cloud will develop innovative products and build out its automated reorder suggestions (‘Smart Replenishment’), which ensures that stores have the accurate amount and the appropriate type of articles at any given time.
The company is also prioritizing transparency around sustainability by enabling brands to share their sustainability attributesvia the Fashion Cloud platform. Due to the increased customer interest, retailers are including certifications and standards on their webshops and in stores to inform purchasing decisions.
speaking about the investment, Alies ter Kuile, Fashion Cloud Co-Founder, said: “Brands and retailers want to be able to work together more easily and effectively. This investment enables Fashion Cloud to take the collaboration between stakeholders to the next level. With strong partners on our side, we will ensure thetransformation of the fashion wholesale industry towards a more efficient and sustainable one.“
Björn Beckman, Principal at Verdane added his comments on the deal, saying: “Fashion Cloud helps fashion brands and retailers to save time, money and resources. Their impressive growth and customerretention demonstrates just how well-loved the solution is by thousands of businesses. Digitalization of fashion wholesale iscrucial for efficient collaboration and trade, and ultimately to make the industry more economically and environmentallysustainable.
Fashion Cloud enables brands and retailers to seamlessly share marketing material and product data, while also optimizing wholesale order and inventory management. With the support and funding of Verdane, we’re confident that FashionCloud will cement their position as European market leaders.”
