Lyst secures 14 million dollar investment

Lyst, the fashion e-commerce platform, has raised 14 million dollars in a Series B round of investment led by venture capital firm Balderton Capital, an early investor in luxury online retailer, Yoox. The platform also received additional financing from DFJ Esprit and Accel Partners, as well as new angel

investors including Carmen Busquets, founding investor in Net-A-Porter.com, Paul Forster, co-founder of Indeed.com and John Lindfors, managing partner at DST Investment Management.

The

site, which launched in 2010, creates bespoke shopping experiences for each customer by aggregate inventory from their favourite stores and brands in one place. Lyst attracts two million shoppers a month and generates over 60 million dollars annually in sales for the leading fashion brands and retailers it partners with including Saks, Burberry, Net-A-Porter, J.Crew, Lane Crawford, Balenciaga and Topshop.

“We’re thrilled to have Balderton join us on our journey,” said Chris Morton, Lyst CEO and co-founder. “2013 was an amazing year for us, particularly as we launched fashion’s first universal shopping cart, which is revolutionising the space by enabling shoppers to check out from multiple brands and stores in a single step on site. We’re excited to have such a stellar group of European investors - DFJ Esprit, Accel and Balderton - with strong US ties to help take Lyst to the next level.”

The business has seen significant growth since its launch, growing over 400 percent in 2012 and a further 400 percent in 2013. The investment has been earmarked to enable Lyst to build on its exponential growth, as well as position the company as a leading player in the fashion e-commerce space and as a key revenue driver for the fashion retail industry.

Lyst to expand internationally following 14 million dollar venture capital round

It is also hoped that the funding will allow the business to focus on expanding internationally. Currently, 70 percent of all Lyst users are based in the United States, however, the investment will enable Lyst to push forward with plans to reinforce its London team, after being named as one of the fastest growing companies in the UK by the British government.

Mark Evans, partner at Balderton who will join the Lyst board, added: “We love to invest in European companies that have the potential to disrupt and grow in large global markets – something that Lyst is doing by allowing customers everywhere to build their own fashion stores stocked with the favourite brands from multiple retailers.

“Their customer value proposition as fashion technology innovators has allowed Lyst to work closely with fashion brands and online fashion retailers globally, which has been the key to the company’s extraordinary growth story since the launch three years ago, which continues to accelerate. We are excited to be with Chris, Seb and the team at Lyst at an important stage in the company’s development.”

Image: Lyst