Consumer Luxury Brand, SENREVE, raises $16.75M in Series-A Funding
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SENREVE, a female founded and led San Francisco based company today announced that it recently raised $16.75M in Series A funding. This brings SENREVE's total capital raised to more than $23M in just three years.
Led by Norwest Venture Partners, this latest round of funding will help co-founders Coral Chung and Wendy Wen lead SENREVE to reach a global scale and iconic status. This latest round of funding is a huge milestone for the company as well as extremely rare in the startup landscape. According to PitchBook, female-founded start-up companies receive only 2.2% of the total capital invested by the U.S. venture capital firms, despite owning 38% of the businesses in the country. This is also in stark contrast to a recent study done at the Stanford Graduate School of Business which suggests that investors and shareholders generally reward diversity announcements at publicly traded companies.
Chung and Wen's combined backgrounds in finance, consulting, retail, and tech as well as their consumer-centric perspective and ability to trust their instincts to disrupt a traditional industry is the primary reason for much of SENREVE's success . By using a combination of consumer data, smart manufacturing and inventory planning, Chung has been able to side-step many of the downfalls of traditional luxury brands to create a new platform turns the traditional luxury model on its head. Building on their own professional working experiences, Chung and Wen created products to empower busy, savvy and ambitious women.
"We focus on authentic brand storytelling, creating beautiful and luxurious products, and engaging with customer feedback and data," said Coral Chung, co-founder and CEO, SENREVE . Over 10,000 orders have been waitlisted or preordered of SENREVE's products. SENREVE's marquee bag, the Maestra, expertly blends sophisticated design, with luxurious Italian craftsmanship and versatility have attracted the likes of Hollywood's A-List including Lady Gaga, Priyanka Chopra, Anna Kendrick, and Brie Larson to name a few that have been spotted carrying the brand's signature bag.
When seeking funding, SENREVE sought out investors who are true partners, helping to bring the brand's long-term vision to life. Norwest is known for having their finger on the pulse of consumer brands, having invested in companies such as Jet.com, Kendra Scott, Casper and others. The firm has also had a focus on backing successful female founders with companies like Minted and Madison Reed. "We're thrilled to bring on an institutional partner like Norwest, and especially excited to partner with Sonya Brown who has a phenomenal track record of backing successful consumer brands," says Wen the Company's COO. "We look forward to partnering with Norwest to scale our business into an iconic global luxury brand which has always been my dream from the beginning," adds Chung.
SENREVE's rapid growth while being focused on profitability was something that's unique and compelling as an investment opportunity especially in the direct-to-consumer space. "In a world where direct-to-consumer channels have become increasingly crowded, Senreve has been extremely savvy about how they introduce themselves digitally," said Sonya Brown, General Partner at Norwest. "Coral and Wendy's ability to build a luxury brand practically overnight is a testament to their authentic understanding of the modern woman. In particular, Senreve resonates with the next generation of powerful women because they don't want to compromise functionality to achieve luxury, and they shouldn't have to. I am thrilled to partner with them for this next, exciting chapter."
Today, SENREVE, remains primarily vertically integrated, owning every touch point of the process (from Italian sourcing, design, and manufacturing to packaging and distribution through their omni-channel platform), and is laser focused on creating timeless, high quality products for the modern woman. With this latest capital infusion, the company will expand its product offering, grow its geographic presence, form long and strategic partnerships and explore new brick & mortar retail opportunities.
ABOUT SENREVE: Inspired by the women who do it all, SENREVE is derived from the French words for "sense" and "dream." Designed for the multi-faceted modern woman, SENREVE was born when, as rising female professionals, we found ourselves in search of the perfect luxury handbag. Our brand is built upon the coexistence of dichotomies: everyday and fantasy, tradition and innovation, design and versatility—creating an elevated experience that defies trade-offs. Our products are handcrafted in Florence, Italy, we are headquartered in San Francisco and ship globally to over 200+ countries. For more information, please visit www.senreve.com.
ABOUT NORWEST VENTURE PARTNERS: Norwest is a premier multi-stage investment firm managing more than $7.5 billion in capital. Since our inception, we have invested in more than 600 companies and partner with over 140 active companies across our venture and growth equity portfolio. The firm invests in early to late stage companies across a wide range of sectors with a focus on consumer, enterprise, and healthcare. We offer a deep network of connections, operating experience, and a wide range of impactful services to help CEOs and founders scale their businesses. Norwest has offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco, with subsidiaries in India and Israel. For more information, please visit www.nvp.com. Follow Norwest on Twitter @NorwestVP.
Contact:
Becky Miller
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