From fashion starlet to IPO in five years

Boozting revenues from SEK 150 million to SEK 3 billion

About Boozt

We invested in Boozt, a leading Northern European online fashion retailer, in 2012 following a direct invitation by the founders and an existing investor, who were looking to bring on additional e-tail expertise. The partnership culminated in a public listing of Boozt on Nasdaq Stockholm on May 31, 2017. Between 2012 and 2018, revenue grew from SEK 150 million to SEK 3 billion. Supported by the continued offline-to-online migration in consumer products, the company recently launched a beauty offering.

Investment rationale

Our experience building consumer internet businesses perfectly matched Boozt’s need for an investor that could provide operational best practice and guidance on how to accelerate growth and achieve scale. Boozt’s high growth numbers, and its outlook at the time of our original investment, were underpinned by the offline-to-online migration of ready-to-wear – a key attraction based on our philosophy to invest in assets supported by long-term structural growth trends.

We wanted a specialised e-commerce investor with a genuine understanding of our product and the industry we operate in.

Value creation initiatives

Driving operational excellence

  • Revamped the website to improve customer conversion and return rates
  • Improved transaction costs by renegotiating payment provider terms against Verdane benchmarks
  • Developed product assortment to drive SEO and traffic to website
  • Complete overhaul of marketing mix; lowered marketing costs and establishment of a CRM strategy that now serves as the golden standard in our customer internet portfolio
  • Completed construction of a fully automated warehouse in 2017

 

Refining the market offering

  • Launched outlet site Booztlet.com in 2015, followed by physical store launch in 2016
  • Launched Beauty by Boozt, accompanied by a physical store in Denmark, in 2017
  • Phased out the mono-brand business area in 2016
  • Supporting management through financing rounds
  • Led a couple of early financing rounds and helped raise capital from new owners in two Pre-IPO financing rounds

 

Strategic positioning and exit

  • Co-lead the exit and IPO process together with Sunstone Capital