US' Bold Metrics secures $8 million in Series A financing

The company, which already has a global presence and is profitable, will use the funds to accelerate its expansion into new growth markets while also scaling research and development to deepen its core capabilities. Bold Metrics already works with a number of brands including Canada Goose, Tailored Brands (Men’s Wearhouse, Jos A Bank), SuitShop, Blue Delta Denim and UpWest, amongst others, the company said in a media statement.

Bold Metrics provides apparel brands and retailers with the most accurate AI body modelling technology to unlock the power of body data enabling data-led product design. This in turn reduces returns, boosts conversion and quantifiably improves sustainability efforts while making shopping for clothing easy, convenient and personal for consumers. Its AI solutions connect customers to clothes that fit according to their body measurements, shape and personal preference data in seconds, driving down return rates at a time when the apparel industry is grappling with a serious returns problem.

Consumer preference-based returns drive approximately 72 per cent of all returns in the apparel product categories, with poor fit accounting for more than 50 per cent of those returns. In addition, the significant environmental cost as a result of returns contributes an estimated 15 million metric tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere annually while generating five billion pounds of landfill waste within the same period in the US alone.

Bold Metrics powers sizing intelligence solutions for ready-to-wear, on-demand and custom apparel both in-store and online so that consumers can efficiently connect their body data to products. With an ever-growing arsenal of 45 million body models, the company continues to lead the market, adding more than 2 million new body models per quarter, according to Bold Metrics.

Unlocking access to consumer body data in the apparel industry is crucial, and Bold Metrics has been leading the way in its accuracy of results as well as innovation. The timeliness of the funding will enable Bold Metrics to further scale growth, attract talent and boost its R&D efforts to address the evolving needs of apparel brands and their global customers.

“To state the obvious, when you're selling clothes online, the way they fit really matters to the customer and the business. Bold Metrics hides sophisticated AI models in an elegant user-friendly wrapper that helps customers choose clothes that fit every time. We're excited to help this team modernise the way this massive industry does business,” Kent Bennett, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, said.

“Inspired by my family’s craft in tailoring and my background in data science, we sought to develop a method to capture body measurements accurately without compromising adoption rates. With Bold Metrics’ proprietary AI Body modelling technology, we've achieved a scalable sizing solution that is easy for our clients and their customers to adopt and use, while simultaneously unlocking data-led insights to provide new tracks of retail intelligence throughout the organisation,” Daina Burnes, CEO of Bold Metrics, said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)