Fashion Cloud receives €25 million investment, led by Verdane

Europe’s leading B2B software solution for the fashion wholesale industry has completed a new funding round, which will support Fashion Cloud’s goal to transform the industry.

Today, Fashion Cloud is pleased to announce it has received an investment of €25 million, led by European specialist growth equity investor, Verdane. Verdane’s deep expertise in the B2B software business along with its large international network and its team of in-house specialists will support Fashion Cloud on its growth trajectory. Alongside Verdane, existing investors including HEARTLAND participated in the funding round.

Founded in 2015, Fashion Cloud is the all-in-one solution for content and data exchange as well as digital pre- and reorder in the fashion wholesale industry. 40% of Europe’s €500bn fashion market is wholesale, but the industry is fragmented and inefficient. Fashion Cloud solves this problem with a set of smart software solutions for fashion brands and retailers, enabling them to digitise everything from sharing marketing material and product data, to optimising orders and inventory and working together more efficiently.

In the last three years, the company has seen accelerating growth and now more than 20,000 retailers and 600 brands are using Fashion Cloud’s platform. Customers include international retailers and brands like Zalando, Magasin du Nord, Hugo Boss and Scotch & Soda.

Drawing upon Verdane’s network, Fashion Cloud will accelerate its international expansion so that brands and retailers can work together seamlessly all over the world. Verdane has a strong record of investing in tech-enabled businesses, which will enable Fashion Cloud to help solve industry-wide issues such as data harmonisation as well as content and data management. The new capital will be used to further develop established features like ‘content’ and ‘order’, which allow retailers to access marketing material and product data from more than 600 brands while also ordering articles with one click in the supplier’s brand shops. Furthermore, Fashion Cloud will develop innovative products and build out its automated reorder suggestions (‘Smart Replenishment’), which ensures that stores have the accurate amount and the appropriate type of articles at any given time.

The company is also prioritising transparency around sustainability by enabling brands to share their sustainability attributes via the Fashion Cloud platform. Due to the increased customer interest, retailers are including certifications and standards on their web shops and in stores to inform purchasing decisions.

Alies ter Kuile, Fashion Cloud Co-Founder:

“Brands and retailers want to be able to work together more easily and effectively. This investment enables Fashion Cloud to take the collaboration between stakeholders to the next level. With strong partners on our side, we will ensure the transformation of the fashion wholesale industry towards a more efficient and sustainable one.“

Björn Beckman, Principal at Verdane:

“Fashion Cloud helps fashion brands and retailers to save time, money and resources. Their impressive growth and customer retention demonstrates just how well-loved the solution is by thousands of businesses. Digitalisation of fashion wholesale is crucial for efficient collaboration and trade, and ultimately to make the industry more economically and environmentally sustainable. Fashion Cloud enables brands and retailers to seamlessly share marketing material and product data, while also optimising wholesale order and inventory management. With the support and funding of Verdane, we’re confident that Fashion Cloud will cement their position as European market leaders.”