10 Dec Nordstrom Takes Equity Stake in Shoes of Prey
Shoes of Prey, the start-up that pioneered on-demand customized fashion footwear globally, has raised $15.5 million in equity capital and a deepened partnership with specialty fashion retailer Nordstrom.
Shoes of Prey’s largest funding round to date was led by BlueSky Venture Capital. Greycroft and Nordstrom also came on board as new equity partners, and Khosla Ventures, which led Shoes of Prey’s $5.5 million Series A-2 round in 2014, also increased its investment. This brings the company’s total combined funding to $24.6 million.
Shoes of Prey provides shoppers the power to design their own shoes online and choose from trillions of combinations of style, heel height, material, color, size and width. Women across the world have designed more than five million shoes on Shoes of Prey since the company was founded in 2009.
“We want to serve customers in many different ways to deliver highly relevant experiences,” said Scott Meden, Executive Vice President and GMM Shoes, Nordstrom. “With personalization becoming more important to how the customer views good service, it’s important for us to find opportunities to stay increasingly relevant. Shoes of Prey offers us a way to enhance and deliver a great customer service experience that aligns well with our strategic vision and long-term goals as a company.”
Earlier this year the company rolled out physical design studios in six Nordstrom stores across the US. The brand is now also available on Nordstrom.com, which establishes an important new sales channel for Shoes of Prey.Shoes of Prey, an online retailer that lets women design their own shoes, has raised $15.5 million from Nordstrom and other private equity investors.
Shoes of Prey will use the funding to continue growing its omni-channel retail presence in the US. The funding will also increase production capacity in the company’s dedicated factory in China to cater to increased consumer demand in the US and globally for customized products, and to accelerate future expansion into new products, starting with women’s handbags.
Following the relocation of the company’s headquarters from Sydney to Los Angeles earlier this year, Shoes of Prey is also aggressively hiring to support its rapid growth, currently at 120 per cent year on year.
“The traditional mass manufacturing model is designed to cater to the masses and not to individual styles and preferences,” said Benjamin Ling, Investment Partner at Khosla Ventures. “Shoes of Prey is redefining global retail and fashion; by manufacturing on demand, they enable consumers to define their own style and get shoes that meet their individual tastes, which would otherwise be unavailable.”