Anatwine raises 12 million dollars in investment round

Online fashion network Anatwine, which integrates fashion brands into fashion retailers’ websites, has raised 12 million dollars in its latest funding round, which will be used to accelerate its global expansion.

The British firm, which has recently opened a New York office, was founded in 2013, and has signed up many of the world’s top 200 fashion, apparel and sportswear retailers and brands such as Adidas, Zalando, Next, Harvey Nichols, Reebok, House of Fraser, Marks and Spencer, Superdry, ShangPin and Tmall.

The latest investment follows an annual like-for-like sales increase of 421 percent at the company, with current month-on-month sales growth reported at 44 percent. In addition, the company has also increased staff numbers by 300 percent in the last year, with forecasts of a minimum signing of another 100 fashion, apparel, and sportswear retailers in the next 12 months.

Anatwine founder Chris Griffin said in a statement that the money raised would “help to drive” the technology firm further, as well as allow them to build on the “technological innovations and capabilities we currently offer and achieve our overall objective of providing the consumer with the right stock at the right time”.

Sir Terence Leahy, ex-CEO of Tesco and non-executive director of Anatwine, added: “The work that Anatwine is doing is truly phenomenal when you look at the way they are helping brands and retailers to forecast increases in revenue of hundreds of millions of pounds.

“The latest funding will allow Anatwine to accelerate this initiative even further and expand the capabilities of its already innovative platform and the technical capabilities it is able to offer the online fashion industry.”

Zalando increases investment in British technology firm Anatwine

As part of the funding round, German-based Zalando has increased its minority shareholding in Anatwine.

David Schneider, co-founder and co-chief executive, Zalando, said: "We've been working closely with Anatwine for several years already. The increase in our shareholding highlights once again our trust and belief in the strength of the Anatwine team and its technical capabilities.

“Our joint vision is to enable the digital business strategy of brand partners, to connect all the stock available and to create a relevant experience for customers. The deepening of our strategic partnership will see both our companies accelerate their individual growth strategies.”

The Anatwine global fashion network connects brand’s and retailer’s business systems through a single integration, enabling collaboration and innovation to create the optimal online stock mix, to help drive increased sales and sell through, as well as deliver enhanced brand exposure and consistent customer experience.

Image: Anatwine website