Fashion platform Lyst has raised $85 million as it looks at its prospects for having an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. The funding comes on the heels of a banner year as the number of its users jumped to 150 million.
New investors in the London eCommerce company include Fidelity International, Novator Capital, Giano Capital and C4 Ventures, alongside existing backers Draper Esprit, 14W, Accel, Balderton Capital, Venrex and LVMH, which bills itself as “the world leader in luxury.”
“In recent years we have seen other high-growth fashion tech businesses taking the next step, and we believe Lyst is well positioned to capitalize on this market momentum,” said Nicola McClafferty, partner at Draper Esprit. She told Women’s Wear Daily that the growth in digital shopping and luxury eCommerce sales will only continue after the pandemic.
McClafferty noted that Draper has been a backer from the beginning and that the latest round of funding “sets the business up for an exciting next phase.”
The company said that its platform now offers millions from 17,000 brands and retailers. Lyst said its total gross merchandise volume exceeded $500 million in the last year.
“Lyst is rapidly becoming a fashion category leader, which hundreds of millions of fashion lovers rely on to decide what to buy,” said Chris Morton, Lyst founder and CEO. He said that there is “huge growth potential globally” for fashion eCommerce.
As part of its growth plans, Lyst has named former Spotify executive Mateo Rando as its new chief product officer. Women’s Wear said that Rando will focus on further developing the Lyst app, which was the most-downloaded fashion app globally over the last year.
Hopes for a post-pandemic economic boom are in the air. According to a report from Piper Sandler, U.S. teen girls say they will increase spending on clothing and accessories in the near future. The survey of about 7,000 teens averaging 16 years old found that girls plan to increase spending by 9 percent.