Privalia, a private sales club headquartered in Spain, has closed a new round of investment of 25 million euro ($32 million). Investors of this round included Belgian-based fund Sofina, La Caixa Capital Risc, Nauta Capital, Highland Capital Partners, General Atlantic, Insight Venture Partners, Index Ventures, the founders of dress-for-less Mirco Schultis and Holger Hengstler, and José Manuel Villanueva and Lucas Carné, the two co-founders of Privalia. Belgian Sofina will become the new shareholder of Privalia.
Privalia reinforces its financial structure to expand its leadership and to continue investing in growth, especially in the Latin-American markets of Mexico and Brazil, the main operation of the business by sales volume.
Lucas Card, co-founder of Privalia states: “During the last three years we have invested to establish Privalia as one of the first groups of and-commerce in Europe and in Latin America. The current size of the operations permits us this year to center us in the operating efficiency and in the growth of the profit value. Only those electronic commerce that be profitable or have the support of strong investors, they will be capable of surviving in the next three years. We have the luck to comply both conditions”.
One of the avenues of growth comes from Privilia’s innovation in the mobile channel. Its operations in Mexico have surpassed the 40% of the total of sales. “These figures are the fruit of our early bet by the mobile one and of a business strategy differentiated for this channel, what is permitting us to enlarge the distance with respect to the competence” comments José Manuel Villanueva, co-founder of Privalia.
By Lolita A. Alford