Rad, the online discovery platform for the latest in cutting-edge indie fashion, art and design products, today announces that it has raised €2.5 million in Series A investment (roughly $ 3,303,250) to build on its rapid growth. The round is led by Index Ventures — backers of ASOS, Etsy, NastyGal and Russia’s answer to Amazon, Ozon — and angel investors including Nicolas Santi-Weil and the New York-based Vaizra Seed Fund.
The platform, which offers its members “cool products, every day” and fosters unique collaborations with artists and designers all over the world to create its own ‘Rad’ products, plans to use the investment to expand its current team. The company will also invest in logistics, production and marketing in preparation for its forthcoming rollout to the U.K. and Germany.
Launched just eleven months ago and already on target to reach revenues of €15m in its first fiscal year of operation, Rad is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce websites in Europe. It was self-financed and grew to 200,000 members entirely through social media buzz and word of mouth. Today its membership is closing in on one million. The business was co-founded by David Smadja (CVO/CMO), Anthony Serero (CEO), Simon Amzalag (CFO) and Julia Serero (Chief buyer).
“Rad is all about finding, creating and offering cool products, that are all but impossible to source anywhere else, at the best prices,” said co-founder David Smadja. “This investment will help us on our way to developing our brand, as we continue to create unique products, deepen our collaborations with artists of all kinds and create a growing community of people who share our passions. Our goal is for our members to create products with us on a massive scale, turning Rad into an incubator for young talent and designers.”
Martin Mignot from Index Ventures added: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Rad team, who has proven, in their short history, that they have an innate understanding of fashion, brands and design. Working with ground-breaking businesses like Etsy and NastyGal has proven to us that retail is an area undergoing enormous change and Rad has a great opportunity to become a global company in this space.”
Rad is a discovery platform for cool fashion, art and design products. It is part private sales, part art shop and part brand. Based in Paris, it was launched on July 12th, 2012. Self-financed and on track to close its first fiscal year with €15m in revenues, Rad is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce websites in Europe. It raised €2,5m in series A in June 2013.
By Lolita A. Alford