Grabble, the mobile shopping app described as the ‘Tinder for fashion’,
has secured 1.2 million pounds of funding to assist in strengthening its
platform and expansion into the US and Asia.
Backers include chairman of Skimlinks Alex Hoye, founder of Miroma
Venture Marc Boyan, who previously invested in Pinterest, and Guy Hipwell,
head of e-commerce at C&A, previously head of e-commerce at Liberty’s and
Harrods. In addition, the consortium of high-profile angel investors also
includes Alex Tait, former head of e-commerce at Topshop owner Arcadia, and
media guru Darren Childs, chief executive of UKTV.
The start-up, which allows users to create their own shoppable fashion
content and ‘grab’ clothing from a number of high street retailers, using
the same ‘swipe right for yes’ action used by dating app Tinder, aims to
use the investment to not only expand the app into the US and Asia, but
also to improve the checkout experience to boost sales, as well as
personalising and widening the reach of the app.
The money has also been used to add to its team with the most notable
hire being the Outnet’s global head stylist, Cherry Collins being named as
its fashion director.
Co-founder Joel Freeman explained: “Our aim is to launch in the US by
the summer, but we are also looking East, having strategically taken
investment from influential angel investors from Asia and the US that could
assist us in these exciting markets where mobile usage is growing so fast.”
Grabble app raises 1.2 million to support international expansion
Freeman founded the app with Daniel Murray in 2013, and since its
launch in August last year the app has signed up 80,000 users, who have
grabbed more than 500,000 items, which has generated 100,000 pounds in
tracked transactions. The app currently hosts products from 1,500 brands
including Asos, Topshop, Zara, Reiss, Selfridges, Uniqlo, Urban Outfitters
and Missguided.
Murray added: “The size of the seed round is a great indication not
only of the size of our addressable market, but the importance of our
geographical location. London is now a centre of excellence for both
technology and, more traditionally, fashion.
“We have spent a long time targeting relevant investors who
passionately share our vision on m-commerce and support our strategy on
delivering a great experience for fashion retailers and consumers alike on
mobile.”
Other investors include Seamus Keating, ex-CFO of Logitech Worldwide,
Nishul Saperia, founding team of London startup ‘Markit’ which had a 1
billion dollar IPO, Pablo Barclay, CEO and founder of Rubbersole.co.uk,
Maiden Lane – an angel fun based in Silicon Valley, and Fusepump
co-founders Chris Conn and Rob Durkin.
Image: Grabble
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