Reformation secures another $25m in funding

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Dec 19, 2017

LA-based sustainable label Reformation has raised $25M in Series B funding led by Stripes Group, 14W and Imaginary Ventures, the venture capital firm formed by Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet and Nick Brown.

Originally founded as an e-commerce business in 2009, Reformation plans to use the second round of funding to expand its brick-and-mortar store network. It will also expand sustainability programs at its LA factory, which is open to the public.

Currently, Reformation operates eight brick-and-mortar locations in the US. Five opened in 2017, including a vintage store on Melrose Ave and a tech-focused store with touchscreen displays at Culver City's Platform. The company has consistently shown 60 percent growth for its retail stores year over year since 2014, but 80 percent of its sales still come from its website.

In a release, founder Yael Aflalo said the company's goal with the funding is to roll out new features and operations in groups of new stores. Currently Reformation has three LA locations, one in San Francisco, three in NY, including a SoHo flagship, and one in Dallas.

Aflalo said a key initiative for 2018 is the company's "buy anything anywhere" policy, explaining that it "requires a pretty strong technical foundation," which will also be supported by increasing the store network.

In addition to mutliplying its brick-and-mortar locations, Aflalo said the funding will be used to strengthen sustainability practices. The brand has been a leader in the transparency movement, detailing the carbon, water and waste impact profile of each item of clothing it sells.

Aflalo said Reformation will continue "researching and investing in new fibers" to ensure it can maintain "visibility into where the materials are from." She also stated that the brand will invest in expanding compliance processes, which are visible and open to the public at the factory.

Reformation is expected to earn over $100 million in revenue for 2017. The brand is yet to reveal which cities will get new stores, however it ran a spring pop-up in Miami from March through May of this year indicating a potential growth market.