Luxury apparel etailer Grana raises $3.5 mn more

18 Feb '16

3 min read

Hong Kong-based Grana (grana.com), an online clothing retailer creating luxury fabrics and wardrobe essentials at guilt-free prices, has announced securing an additional $3.5 million in seed funding.

The lead investor is Golden Gate Ventures, along with investments from MindWorks Ventures and Bluebell Group, bringing their total funding to date to $6 million, with additional Series A funding pending. Grana recently launched in the US market, and the additional funding will help the brand continue its international growth and expansion, the company said in a press release.

Grana claims it offers timeless wardrobe essentials created from fabrics found around the world, including Chinese Silk, Mongolian Cashmere, Irish Linen, Japanese Denim, Peruvian Pima Cotton, French Poplin, Chinese Cotton Twill, Italian Merino Wool and Japanese Chambray. Grana designs its merchandise in-house and works directly with fabric mills in order to bring the highest quality clothing to customers at the best possible prices.

Grana has grown extensively since its March 2014 beta launch, during which the brand sold 2,000 Peruvian Pima Cotton t-shirts in three weeks, shipping to eight countries directly from Hong Kong. Month-over-month sales are currently increasing by 40 per cent since Grana launched in October of 2014.

The new round of funding will expand Grana's shipping to new markets as well as aid the entry into the American and Chinese markets. The funds will play a critical role in new product category launches such as leather goods, undergarments and activewear.

“We're pleased to receive financial backing from Golden Gate Ventures and MindWorks Ventures,” said Luke Grana, CEO and co-founder of Grana. “The support is critical to our US expansion, a priority market that already represents 20 per cent of our global sales. This new investment allows us to further disrupt the online clothing market and provide consumers with luxury-quality wardrobe essentials without the luxury price point.”

Since its launch, Grana has brought a number of “Fitting Rooms” to consumers across Sydney, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and mostly recently opened a US location in San Francisco in December 2015.

Designed as a showroom instead of a retail shop, customers can experience the brand personality in the space, interact with Grana Cheetahs (customer service representatives), and discover the website. Retail showroom spaces are increasing in popularity, and Grana's Fitting Room model is helping to lead this global trend. The new funding will also allow Grana to open additional Fitting Room locations in the US and provide support for a technological upgrade to the shops, reinventing the way people buy clothes in-store.