Tag Archives: Fashion

Experienced online retail investor Verdane Capital invests in navabi

Verdane Capital

navabi, the global leader in plus size fashion, partners with Verdane Capital IX, the Nordic investor in online retail and technology enabled companies.

Verdane Capital IX has invested an 8-figure euro sum to fuel navabi’s ongoing growth. The investor is taking over all shares of Bauer Venture Partners, while investing an additional higher amount. All other previous investors – such as Index Ventures – remain on board in navabi. Verdane Capital is well-known in the online retail space, having invested in Boozt.com, known by some as the ‘Nordic Zalando’, which was successfully listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm Stock Exchange in 2017.

 

With the current financing, navabi has set the course for continued profitable growth and further expansion of its market leadership in the plus size segment. Today, two thirds of navabi’s sales go to the German home market, and the company plans to boost its international sales going forward, particularly in the UK, but also in other markets such as Scandinavia. navabi will further use the investment to emphasise technology development, as the company’s success is significantly based on their data and automation focus. Having achieved its goal of reaching profitability during a period of growth based on this data-driven strategy, navabi plans to further grow its in-house data science and artificial intelligence systems to better serve the needs of its international customer base. Data-driven merchandising will also continue to help navabi expand its popular range of own brands.

 

navabi’s investment strategy is focused on long-term healthy and profitable growth and working with fashion-experienced partners. Bahman Nedaei, co-founder of navabi, said: “We are delighted to partner with Verdane Capital IX who has strong roots in the fashion and online retail industry and who shares our vision of sustainable and profitable growth.” Co-founder Zahir Dehnadi added: “We think all women, irrespective of size, should be able to find beautiful and high quality clothes, and our goal is for navabi to become synonymous with plus size fashion. Buying clothes when you are plus size can be challenging but by understanding what our customers need and desire, we ensure that shopping at navabi is a truly enjoyable experience.”

 

The plus size market is experiencing sustained growth, as demonstrated by the 270% increase in Google searches for ‘plus size’ in Europe over the last five years. Verdane Capital IX is looking forward to contributing to navabi’s growth journey. “navabi has a dedicated and highly competent team, a great offering and a strong growth potential in an attractive niche. Combined with our experience and expertise in building online retail winners, we believe we have the perfect set-up for creating a global market leader in plus sized fashion,” explained Staffan Mörndal, Partner at Verdane Capital Advisors.

 

The navabi team is run by the founders Zahir Dehnadi and Bahman Nedaei from Germany, with an office in London, and is dedicated to the needs of stylish plus size women worldwide. The company sells the world’s largest selection of plus styles. Over 150 well-known labels such as Marina Rinaldi Sport and Levi’s can be found on the website. Further, navabi has successfully launched own brands which are growing strongly and already account for one third of the company’s sales. navabi is available in more than 30 countries, including Germany, the UK, France and the USA.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Michaela Krause, m.krause@navabi.de or +49 172 65 32 544

Staffan Mörndal, staffan.morndal@verdanecapital.com or +46 70 93 15 235

 

About navabi

navabi is the global leader in plus size fashion. We curate and create the best and most inspirational plus size fashion collections and offer a ecommerce experience for our style savvy customers. More information can be found at: www.navabi.co.uk

 

About Verdane Capital

Verdane funds provide flexible growth capital to fast growing software, consumer internet, energy or high-technology industry businesses. The funds are distinctive in that they can invest either in a single company, or in portfolios of companies. Verdane funds have €900m under management and have invested in over 300 holdings over the past 14 years. Verdane Capital Advisors has 29 employees working out of offices in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. More information can be found at: www.verdanecapital.com

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EQT sells CBR Fashion Group

eqt

  • EQT V to sell German based CBR Fashion Group to Alteri Investors
  • During EQT V’s ownership, CBR has developed from a fast fashion company to a multi-channel fashion business with a bespoke e-commerce platform achieving double-digit annual growth rates
  • Improved capital structure through successful bond issuance which significantly increases operational flexibility

EQT V today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell CBR Fashion Group (”CBR” or “the Company”) to UK based Alteri Investors.

CBR is one of the top five women’s fashion manufacturers in Germany. It has over 1,200 employees and supplies more than 8,300 sales outlets in 19 European countries. It operates under two long-term established brands: Street One and CECIL. Since EQT V acquired the Company, it has significantly invested in the business and its IT, digital and logistic infrastructure. CBR has developed from a fast fashion wholesale retailer to a contemporary multi-channel women’s fashion provider with a strong e-commerce platform. With the introduction of an in-house retail business and e-commerce function, the Company is now present and well positioned throughout all important sales channels.

With a strategy of launching twelve new collections per year and a dedicated end customer focus, CBR successfully offers fashion at the right time and in line with ongoing trends. Thanks to efficient processes, stable relationships with wholesale partners and a steadily growing digital distribution channel, CBR is well positioned to capitalize on both online and offline sales opportunities.

Revenues for the last twelve months ending in June 2017 amounted to EUR 579 million. During recent years, CBR has shown a double-digit growth rate in the key e-commerce channel. In the fourth quarter of 2017, CBR significantly improved its capital structure through a successful bond issuance.

Matthias Born, CFO/COO of CBR, said: “Together with EQT, we have developed and professionalized our business model. Today, CBR is well positioned for the future in all important formats. We are prepared to meet the challenges within the fashion retail sector and committed to continue to strengthen our market positions.”

Marcus Brennecke Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT V, added: “We are impressed by the focused business strategy Matthias Born, Jim Nowak and their team have implemented. CBR’s offering has been sharpened and today supplies contemporary women’s fashion through a strong multi-channel platform. CBR is well equipped for future growth.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2018.

Contacts:
Marcus Brennecke Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT V +49 89 2554 9959
EQT Press Contact, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 38 billion in raised capital across 25 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About CBR Fashion Group
Founded in 1980, CBR Fashion Group is now one of the major fashion manufacturers in the German mainstream women’s clothing market. With a broad geographical presence and two established brands, Street One and CECIL, CBR is one of the foremost suppliers of women’s fashion in Germany, employs over 1,200 people and is represented in 19 European countries.

More info: www.cbr.de

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NPM invests in Suitsupply’s growth

NPM Capital

Private equity firm NPM Capital has reached an agreement with Suitsupply regarding an investment in the company which will further accelerate the international expansion and online sales activities. Suitsupply currently operates 91 stores in 73 cities on 3 continents. More than 75% of sales are generated outside of the Netherlands, and almost 30% of sales occur online.

Suitsupply was founded in 1999 by Fokke de Jong, who still serves as CEO. De Jong started Suitsupply as a web-only store, and became an early adaptor to the omnichannel strategy when he opened a physical store in 2000. The company managed to score headline reviews with its groundbreaking concept of selling high quality semi-tailored suits at prices previously unheard of. The Wall Street Journal declared the quality to be similar to competitors which were selling at prices up to 6 times higher. In 17 years, the company has become a widely recognized brand in Europe, the US, and Asia. Suitsupply is active in the whole value chain; from design, sourcing, production, distribution to end-user sales, through a network of both physical stores and a webstore.

With the growth capital supplied by NPM Capital, Suitsupply will accelerate its growth even further. The company’s growth plan aims to open more stores worldwide, and renew a large part of the Dutch store portfolio. Suitsupply will expand its leading position in online sales through further investments in technology, aiming to strengthen the symbiotic relationship between sales in physical and online stores. Additionally, Suitsupply will invest in the recently launched women’s line, Suistudio. Suistudio has had a very promising start, and already has stores in Amsterdam, New York and Shanghai, in addition to a webstore.

NPM Capital sees Suitsupply as a promising company, which can grow even faster than it has been growing. Bart Coopmans, managing director at NPM Capital: “Suitsupply is one of the diamonds of Dutch entrepreneurship. Through its unique business model and disruptive approach, the company has realized an incredible expansion in recent years. The model has been proven in various geographies and is very scalable. Through its strong position in the value chain, the well-developed omnichannel sales proposition, and focus on the US and Asia, we see significant potential for further growth. We believe that our profile fits well with a company such as Suitsupply, and we are excited to provide Suitsupply with the growth capital it needs to realize its full potential”.

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