Acton Capital funds further growth trajectory
Berlin/Munich, 2 July 2012 – FASHION FOR HOME, a leading online shop for designer furniture, has completed a new funding round and welcomed Munich-based growth financer Acton Capital Partners on board as a new investor. In addition to lead investor Acton, Holtzbrinck Ventures has also participated in the transaction. The total value of the funding round is in the lower double-digit millions. As part of the transaction, incubator Rocket Internet has sold its shares to the other investors.
Founded in 2009 by Marc Appelhoff and Christoph Cordes, FASHION FOR HOME (www.fashionforhome.com) offers designer furniture at excellent value for money. The international furniture company, based in Berlin, predominantly sells its furniture collection online and, in addition to Germany, also delivers to Great Britain, the US, Austria and the Netherlands. FASHION FOR HOME develops, produces and sells its collection independently: its distinctive business model is based on vertically-integrated made-to-order production, thereby ensuring a lean cost structure. FASHION FOR HOME passes on this price advantage to its customers.
"We're delighted to welcome Acton on board as an experienced partner specialised in growth strategies for our next stage of development. Acton's multi-channel experience will in particular help us to continue to successfully establish FASHION FOR HOME on the market, with retail shops and mobile commerce solutions, in addition to just our online shop," says Marc Appelhoff, founder and Managing Director of FASHION FOR HOME.
"FASHION FOR HOME operates in a very large, traditional market. The share of online sales in furniture retail is currently still low. The trend towards purchasing furniture online is, however, visibly growing," says Sebastian Wossagk, Acton investment partner, of the market. "Because FASHION FOR HOME purchases directly from the manufacturer and cuts out the middleman, they are able to offer their customers high-class furniture, both in terms of design and quality, at highly attractive prices," continues Wossagk.
"We're impressed with the developments made by FASHION FOR HOME since we came on board in 2009," says Rainer Maerkle, who, as a partner at Holtzbrinck Ventures, is responsible for the investment. "In addition to the company's convincing business model, this is in particular down to its excellent management team. We're excited that we can continue to support FASHION FOR HOME's growth in conjunction with Acton and the other investors."
About FASHION FOR HOME:
FASHION FOR HOME (www.fashionforhome.com) is an international furniture company based in Berlin. The company was founded in 2009 by Marc Appelhoff and Christoph Cordes and today already employs a workforce of some 130. The company currently generates sales in the mid two-digit millions and has a monthly growth rate in the two-digit range. Its ever-growing product range includes everything from high-quality upholstered furniture and dining room furniture to contemporary home accessories and comprises well over 8,000 products. FASHION FOR HOME's pool of around 40 designers is made up of well-known names such as Reinhard Dienes, Karsten Weigel and Danish design studio 365 North, ran by Hendrik Pedersen and Tobias Jacobsen.
About Holtzbrinck Ventures:
HV Holtzbrinck Ventures (www.holtzbrinck-ventures.com) has been investing in Internet companies, mostly in the initial stages of development, for over a decade. During this time, Holtzbrinck Ventures has financed over 100 companies and is one of the few venture capital companies to have even founded international market leaders themselves. Today Holtzbrinck Ventures is one of the most successful European early-stage investors in the Internet sector, with investments in businesses such as Zalando, Wooga, Citydeal/Groupon, Westwing, Experteer, Ozon, AdScale, Lieferheld and Brands4Friends.
