Lone Design Club launches crowdfunding campaign

Lone Design Club, which champions small independent designers, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube to raise 150,000 pounds to help accelerate its growth.

The initial crowdfunding campaign is open to current designers and customers, ahead of a public launch, and the investment target of 150,000 pounds will provide finance for developing new pop up stores and its online platform, as well as growing the support for designers within its LDC Accelerator.

Lone Design Club, chief executive, Rebecca Morter, explained in a statement: “With Lone Design Club’s rapid growth, now holding stores every month in London and launching this year into Europe over Milan Fashion Week and Asia via Shanghai Fashion Weekend, now felt like an opportune time to look at investment.

“This is a rare opportunity for consumers to directly support a wealth of emerging talent via our sustainable platform and our model of complete transparency over consumption and purchases within the retail market. We are creating a community for shoppers and brands alike: a movement with a sense of place.”

The move is part of the premium fashion omnichannel platform’s plan to continue to shake up the traditional retail model, where it blends physical stores with online experiences through live streams, an online market place, mobile self‐checkout and product information and QR codes connecting the physical to the digital.

This investment round will allow London Design Club to grow store days by 250 percent, while also scaling online by hiring more staff to fuel its growth.

London Design Club targets 150,000 pound crowdfunding investment

The concept has generated more than 141,000 pounds in direct revenue in the year to July 2019, according to the company’s pitch. Customer in-store purchases per square foot grew over 210 percent to 577 pounds, while the average in-store basket size grew by 65 percent in 2019 to 120 pounds.

The crowdfunding campaign will allow customers and designers within the platform to take a stake in the business, joining the likes of current investors such as, head of digital at Selfridges, tech entrepreneurs, and designers, as well as the Fashion Tech Accelerator and Hatcher VC Fund.

Investments can be as little as 10 pounds, while investments over 25 pounds come with rewards including 20 percent off events, invites to opening parties, online discounts for a year, access to the platform’s 1one Club, breakfast with the chief executive and by investing 10,000 pounds there is an advisor buffet dinner.

Morter added: “As a female entrepreneur, I’m excited to encourage all of our followers - but especially other female businesswomen - to get involved. Let’s continue to shake-up this male, tech-dominated sector.”

Since May 2018 more than 200 designers, with principles rooted in responsible and sustainable design, have been in Lone Design Club stores in Chelsea, Mayfair, Marylebone, Shoreditch and other great locations in London, Milan and soon to be Shanghai.

Images: courtesy of Lone Design Club