Yesterday, Lamoda.ru, a major online fashion retailer, announced it has received an investment from J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Lamoda did not disclose the amount of this investment, nor its valuation.
The capital injection amounted to somewhere between $40 million and $80 million, East-West Digital News learned from a source close to the company, making the deal one of the largest ones in the history of Russian e-commerce.
Ozon.ru, one of Russia’s leading e-commerce properties, raised a record $100 million in September of last year. Private shopping club KupiVip.ru raised $38 million earlier this year, after a $55 million investment round in 2011.
Lamoda’s direct competitor, Sapato.ru, attracted $20 million before its acquisition by Ozon earlier this year.
Initially designed as a footwear retailer, Lamoda appeared in early 2011, backed by the German business incubator Rocket Internet. The site experienced hard times last year in its fierce marketing battle against Sapato. “Our team fucked up in Russia,” wrote Rocket Internet co-founder Oliver Samwer in December 2011 in an email that became infamous, an email in which he blamed unsatisfactory reporting procedures.
But Lamoda finally asserted its leadership in the footwear segment before extending its assortment to other fashion items. The site claims it has more than 500,000 products and 700 international brands available today.
Lamoda now employs over 800 people and also operates a dedicated distribution fleet throughout the country. The company does not disclose its sales figures, but East-West Digital News has estimated its net sales (not including returns) at approximately $26 million in 2011, compared to $20 million at most for Sapato, based on industry sources.
According to Lamoda, J.P. Morgan’s investment will be used to further expand its product and brand portfolio as well as to increase its presence in neighboring markets such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Belarus.
“We will also continue to streamline our fulfillment and delivery processes and to enhance the online shopping experience for our customers,” the company’s co-founder Niels Tonsen added.
- RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT 2012 – The total volume of Russian online retail reached 310 billion rubles, a little more than $10 billion, in 2011, up 25% at least from the previous year. EWDN has published an in-depth research on Russian e-commerce, which includes a review Russia’s leading e-merchants and their financing over the last two years. To receive free insights or to order the full version, please contact us at [email protected].
