The investment group behind the Danish fashion group Bestseller, Heartland, has taken a 29 % stake in German e-commerce platform About You in a recent capital round, which raised About You about 300 million dollars.
29 % participation
Last month, Heartland (also known for Only, Vero Moda and Jack&Jones) announced it was taking a stake in About You. According to RetailRrends, this participation appears to account for 29% of all shares. Founder Otto Group remains the main shareholder.
About You wants to be in the top three largest online fashion retailers in Europe by 2020. Currently Zalando and British Asos are still well ahead. While About You achieved only 283 million euro in turnover last year, Zalando has an annual turnover of approximately 4.5 billion. Nevertheless, the e-commerce platform’s growth is steep: last year, sales rose by 110 % as About You launched in the Netherlands and Belgium. The current value of the fashion retailer is believed to be about a billion euros and the company has set its sights on an IPO.
In recent years, Bestseller actively invested in multi-brand platforms. It does not shy away from betting on several horses at the same time, as it also has a share of around 30% in Asos. In addition, founder Anders Hoch Povlsen bought a ten percent stake in Zalando and took over the online platform for independent boutiques Miinto.
