Carnet de Mode secures 1.5 million dollars to expand

The French online fashion boutique has announced it has secured 1.5 million dollars investment. The Series A fundraising has been led by Elaia Partners and also involved a handful of well-known French investors, such as Eric Pinot, CEO of SIA

Group, Xavier Dura, former CEO of Nocibé Group or Thierry Petit, Founder of Showroomprivé.com.

“This financing round will enable us to hire senior profiles to strengthen the team and invest in marketing to grow our community of customers worldwide and to further develop our services for fashion designers,” advanced Carnet de Mode's founder and CEO Arbia Smiti in an interview with a French startups blog.

Elaia Partner took the lead in the investing round, aimed to expand Carnet de Mode’s designer marketplace, support the launch of its multi-brand boutique segment, grow the team, and invest in marketing and international business development, as the Paris-based investment firm said earlier this week.

Second funding round to expand

The Series A round comes after Carnet de Mode raised 126,000 dollars (circa 100,000 euros) in seed funding in July 2012.

As unveiled by the company in a statement, since its launch, Carnet de Mode has increased its sales and customers by more than 50 percent on a monthly basis. The site publishes 30 new designers on average each month while its marketplace features 200 designers and 6,000 fashion items.

The French startup counts with Pascal Chevalier (former Chairman and CEO of Netbooster and now owner of Marie France magazine) and Marie Christine Levet (founder of Lycos, former CEO of Club Internet, and Partner at Jaina Capital) among its first investors.