From left: Magnus Emilson, chair, Na-kd; Jarno Vanhatapio, founder, Na-kd; Bruno Crémel, general parter, Partech Ventures; and Omri Benayoun, general partner, Partech Ventures. Image: Na-kd
Na-kd wants to be the preferred fashion provider for millennials.
Swedish fashion site Na-kd has raised $45m in a Series B round led by Partech Ventures along with existing investors Northzone, eEquity, US-based FJ Labs, and Jonas Norlander and Filip Engelbert (Avito founders).
Partech is a global tech investment firm with several e-commerce successes in its portfolio, such as UK-based Made.com and France-based ManoMano.
Na-kd will use the new funding to accelerate the exponential growth of the company and reinforce its leadership as a preferred fashion brand for millennials.
Its expansion plan includes the launch of nine new localised sites in the coming months, the hiring of talent and the strong development of collection collaborations with leading worldwide social influencers.
Style and substance
Na-kd is a global online direct-to-consumer brand for women, founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Jarno Vanhatapio.
The company offers millennials stylish yet affordable clothes, mainly marketed through social influencers.
Na-kd is already among the most-quoted global online fashion brands on Instagram, mainly in Sweden and Germany.
At the end of its second full year of operations, the company had a revenue run rate of close to $75m, growing 150pc in 2017 alone.
“We have had great interest from the investment community and we were in the fortunate position to be able to choose who to partner up with,” said Vanhatapio.
“Partech really impressed us with their high ambitions, deep domain knowledge, extensive omnichannel expertise among the partners and their impressive investment portfolio.”
In 2017, Na-kd moved its main distribution centre to the Netherlands and, in Q4, it launched its new website and IT platform.
“We will continue to invest in growth during 2018, especially targeting the US, UK and major European markets, with nine localised and translated sites and with localised marketing,” Vanhatapio said.
