Bulletin building platform that connects brands with stores

US startup Bulletin has raised $7 million in a Series A round led by Foundation Capital and with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Trail Mix Ventures and Afore Capital. This is its second round of funding, having raised a seed round of $2.2 million in 2017.

The apparel venture, which launched in 2015, has opened three physical stores in New York. It is now building out a platform which taps data science and insights to help retailers find the right brands for their stores. This is currently in beta with the likes of Drake’s General Store and Concrete and Water and is set to publicly launch later this summer.

“With this evolution and new financing, we are now able to serve the millions of digitally native brands that are struggling to find affordable, sustainable solutions for omnichannel growth,” says CEO Alana Branston.

“In testing this marketplace model last year, we were absolutely blown away by the early traction and demand from both retailers and brands. It’s been really gratifying to see how this new product has increased retailers’ sell-through while giving brands the bricks and mortar exposure they need to engage their existing D2C customers, acquire new ones and learn about product performance across various stores and environments.”

Jonathan Ehrlich, Partner at Foundation Capital, comments: “As digital marketing becomes more expensive and convoluted, brands are looking for a more agile, affordable way to access physical retail space to generate sales and build brand awareness. With the right blend of data science and human merchandising, this type of platform not only offers increased distribution for these brands but the right distribution to increase and maintain sales.”