With $8.5 million from a Series B round, New York-based lingerie e-commerce site Adore Me said on Tuesday it has a plan to crack the hold Victoria’s Secret has on the intimate apparel market—at least online.
Adore Me offers rotating collections of new designer bras and panties. In addition to purchases by general consumers, the site gives VIP members access to merchandise and deals others do not see. There is no upfront fee for membership; however, VIPs who skip making monthly purchases will be charged about $40 as store credit they can use within one year.
CEO Morgan Hermand-Waiche said via e-mail that he started work on Adore Me in 2010 while attending Harvard Business School. (You can check out lots of other recent fashion tech startups from HBS grads here.)
Of course, there are plenty of other online sellers of lingerie, such as Frederick’s of Hollywood. But Hermand-Waiche believes Adore Me can grow in the style of “fast-fashion” e-tailing site Zara.com, which brings new designer apparel in a hurry from the catwalk to customers.
Adore Me’s latest funding, from Upfront Ventures, Mousse Partners, and prior investor Redhills Ventures, will go toward increasing inventory and acquiring more customers. So far the startup has raised $11.2 million in total.
