VC-backed navabi raises €25m

Harriet Bailey
21 January 2015

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

Bauer Venture Partners has led a €25m series-D funding round for Aachen-based plus-size fashion retailer navabi.

Previous investors Index Ventures, Seventure Partners, DuMont Venture and Klaus Wecken also participated in the round.

Bauer committed both cash and an advertising budget, providing navabi with access to its portfolio of 600 magazines, such as UK-based Grazia, and 400 digital products.

The funding will also be used to grow navabi's product offering, particularly its own labels, and to expand internationally. According to market research company Mintel, the UK plus-size market alone is expected to hit £6bn in 2015, up from less than £4bn in 2008.

Previous funding
Index Ventures led a €10m series-C funding round in 2013. Seventure Partners provided €2m of the total and invested alongside DuMont. The funding was used to expand the company into the UK and France and to add new brands to its portfolio.

Navabi raised €625,000 from DuMont and several business angels in 2010, while Seventure led a €2.8m series-B round in 2011.

Company
Founded in 2009, Aachen-based navabi sells premium plus-size fashion via its e-commerce site. It offers more than 100 brands including Elena Miro and Anna Scholz.

It operates in 30 countries and has a further office in the UK, from where it generates 30% of its revenues. It claims to have seen growth rates of around 120% per year and has 150 employees.

People
Bahman Nedaei and Zahir Dehnadi are co-founders of navabi. Thomas Preuß is managing partner of Bauer Venture Partners. Dominique Vidal is a partner at Index Ventures.