Big hitters back Thread as new partners sign up
Personalised menswear styling and e-commerce service, Thread, has closed a $22 million Series B founding round and added 50 new brand partners to its range.
The funding came from Balderton Capital, Beringea, Forward Partners and H&M group’s investment arm H&M CO:LAB, with participation from retail investor Maurice Helfgott, and former Lane Crawford Deputy President Sebastian Picardo. It brings total investment in the venture to over $40 million.
New brands onboard include Barbour, Hugo Boss, Levi’s and Ted Baker, as well as emerging labels such as Wax London, Kestin Hare and The Workers Club. The company, which employs around 100 people, now has over a million users.
Meanwhile, three new executives have recently joined the business: David Scott, previously Operations Director at Deliveroo, Rachel Sheridan, previously Chief Product Officer and Trading Director at WorldStores, and Tim Grimsditch, previously VP Marketing at Kano Computing and Marketing Director at Spotify.
“More than ever, guys care about dressing well, which is why menswear is a growing market. But they face an overwhelming number of options on the High Street and online. We’re used to having digital services such as Uber, Netflix and Spotify simplify other aspects of our lives, and men are now turning to Thread as their go-to solution for dressing well. As our stylists and algorithms learn more about our customers, we’ve brought on a huge number of new brands to help each of our customers find the perfect clothes for them,” says Kieran O’Neill, CEO and Co-founder.
Later this year, the London-based venture plans to raise further funds on crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube.
“We have always built the service in collaboration with our customers. We're obsessive about understanding their needs, and have worked closely with customers to craft the experience. We feel lucky that this has resulted in a very loyal, engaged customer base. We’re excited to now give them the opportunity invest in the business on the same terms as our professional investors, and share in our success,” says O’Neill.