The top 9 VC investors in European apparel and accessories

With fashion centres such as Paris, London and Milan boasting luxury brands and successful high street retailers, Europe just might be the style hub of the world. The European fashion industry has so far this year generated €92.4 billion in revenue, according to market and consumer data company Statista, with projections for 2022 reaching €126.7 billion. 

As the market grows, it looks like interest from venture capital investors is, too—particularly when considering the success of companies such as Yoox Net-a-Porter, which was bought by Compagnie Financière Richemont for €2.7 billion earlier this year. VCs have invested a total of €81.9 million across 30 deals in the apparel and accessories sector in Europe so far this year, per the PitchBook Platform. That makes 2018 well on pace to surpass last year's total capital invested of €84.4 million.

Some of the largest deals within the apparel and accessories space take place where the sector intersects with ecommerce. Stockholm-based NOME, for instance, raised 225 million Chinese yuan (around €20.17 million) last year and a further 150 million yuan this past May for its platform, which connects independent designers and consumers. And earlier this month, personal shopping startup Threads Styling secured a €17.1 million Series A. Companies that don't rely on online sales are also benefiting from venture capital investment: Watch manufacturer HYT, for instance, brought in a 23 million Swiss franc (around €20.8 million) Series C in February. 

We've used PitchBook data to compile a list of the top 9 VC investors in the apparel and accessories industry since the start of 2008, excluding accelerator and incubator rounds, complete with deal counts:
 

• Pembroke Venture Capital Trust (8)
• HV Holtzbrinck Ventures (7)
• Herrikoa (7)
• Audacia (7)
• Enterprise Ireland (5)
• Venrex Investment Management (5)
• Finnvera (5)
• Partech Partners (4)
• LocalGlobe (4)

 

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