Luxury shoe manufacturer and retailer M. Gemi raised a $16 million series C investment led by BurdaPrincipal Investments, with participation from previous investors Accel Partners, General Catalyst Partners and Forerunner Ventures.
M. Gemi, which makes men’s and women’s footwear in Italy, says the funding will be used for continued investment in predictive analytics and the brand’s supply chain in Italy. The retailer ranks No. 396 in the 2017 Internet Retailer Top 500.
M. Gemi CEO Ben Fischman says the company sought out an investor that would add expertise and also sees potential for the company globally. “We believe the future of retail is in the convergence of content, digital and physical commerce, and Burda’s unique experience across both consumer media and e-commerce gives us tremendous value as we grow domestically and globally,” Fischman said.
BurdaPrincipal has invested in several online retail companies in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, including Etsy Inc. (No. 22), zooplus, HolidayCheck and Xing AG.
In addition to its e-commerce website, mgemi.com, M. Gemi operates a fit shop in New York City’s Soho neighborhood and next month plans to open a second in Boston’s Prudential Center. The fit shops allow shoppers to get advice from stylists and try on shoes that are later shipped to their homes.
M. Gemi, which was founded in 2015, has raised a total of $47.2 million. This is M. Gemi’s third funding round, according to CrunchBase. Accel Partners led M. Gemi’s most recent funding round, which was an $18 million series B round in November 2015.
What do you think about online personalization? Take this 5-minutes survey and get $100 towards any IR Digital Research report in our shop. Plus, give lucky respondents win a complimentary copy of the Internet Retailer Top 500 Analysis Report, a $299 value.