LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ShoeDazzle, the leading personalized fashion ecommerce site, announced today it has secured $40 million in Series D funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. In conjunction with its investment in the company, Andreessen Horowitz General Partner John O’Farrell will join the ShoeDazzle board of directors.
The $40 million in funding, which brings ShoeDazzle’s total investment to date to $60 million, will allow the company to further advance its innovative, industry-leading model and provide existing and prospective members with greater high fashion choices while continuing to deliver the high touch service and affordability customers have grown accustomed to receiving. The latest round of funding will permit the company to expand its market share with new categories and continue to dominate the category it pioneered with new product launches both within and outside the US.
"Andreessen Horowitz seeks out investments in market leaders," said Brian Lee, Founder of ShoeDazzle. "This significant investment is a strong endorsement of our business model, strategy and management team and gives us the capital to continue to grow and innovate in the social shopping arena."
ShoeDazzle, which now boasts more than 3 million members, has experienced strong demand, thanks to its unique, customer-driven shopping experience that truly integrates a customer’s social graph. The company’s innovative technology platform and proprietary algorithm allows a team of leading stylists to recommend multiple fashion choices based on customers’ individual preferences on a monthly subscription basis. Furthermore, the company’s innovative soft-subscription model provides it with a recurring revenue stream, while at the same time offering its customers affordable fashion choices and significant flexibility.
The Andreessen Horowitz-led investment represents ShoeDazzle’s largest round of financing. ShoeDazzle had two previous venture-based rounds. Polaris Venture Partners was its initial investor in November 2009 with $7 million, with Lightspeed Venture Partners leading a $13 million round in April 2010. Both firms participated in the latest round.
“ShoeDazzle’s innovative model and outstanding execution have positioned the company as the clear market leader in offering online fashion and styling services to women,” said John O’Farrell of Andreessen Horowitz. “We believe the company, anchored by strong management, is poised for continued strong growth as it continues its relentless focus on providing a customer-centric solution to fashion shoppers.”
"We are pleased to welcome Andreessen Horowitz to the ShoeDazzle family," said Jason Trevisan, principal, Polaris Venture Partners. "We recognized something special in ShoeDazzle at its earliest stage and this latest investment led by Andreessen Horowitz both validates the traction we have garnered and will permit the company to grow quickly to an even greater position of strength and innovation.”
“When people say that they like to shop, they are not talking about visiting the supermarket. Shopping is about going to the mall with friends and finding a great pair of shoes. ShoeDazzle is the first to bring that sense of social and entertainment shopping to the web, and now has millions of women looking forward to their shoe selection each month. There has been tremendous growth since we invested last year, and much more to come with the latest round of funding,” offered Jeremy Liew, Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Further information is available in a blog post from General Partner John O’Farrell: http://john.a16z.com/2011/05/16/from-jazz-to-sole—introducing-shoedazzle
About ShoeDazzle®
ShoeDazzle is the leading online fashion brand delivering personalized monthly shoe, handbag and jewelry selections to members by its team of top celebrity stylists. Each recommendation speaks to au courant fashion trends and is selected based on each member’s own distinctive sense of style. The company, which was founded by Brian Lee, Robert Shapiro, MJ Eng, and Kim Kardashian, who serves as the site’s Chief Fashion Stylist, was launched in March 2009 and now boasts nearly one million Facebook fans. ShoeDazzle, the first and most successful online styling service, allows members to experience the personalized service of shopping on Rodeo Drive at an affordable cost. ShoeDazzle’s no-obligation monthly membership cost of $39.95 includes the stylists’ service, your choice of a pair of shoes, a handbag or a jewelry set, and free shipping both ways with easy returns. Visit http://shoedazzle.com for more information.
About Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz is a stage-agnostic venture capital firm that provides seed, venture and growth-stage funding to the best new technology companies. Founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz helps entrepreneurs become successful CEOs and build important and enduring companies. Its general partners are Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, John O'Farrell and Scott Weiss, all widely recognized experts in the creation, scaling, and operation of high growth technology companies. The firm has $1.2 billion under management across two funds. Among its 30 investments are Facebook, Foursquare, Groupon, Skype, Twitter, and Zynga. The firm was established in June 2009 and is located in Menlo Park, CA.