Fitcode Announces $1.8M in Funding; Transforms How Women Shop Online for Denim
New Fashion Tech Company Focuses on Fit, Not Size, to Help Women Find Jeans
SEATTLE, Sept. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Women who shop online now have a better way to find their best denim fit with Fitcode, a new fashion technology company. At the core of the concept, Fitcode is shifting the industry's focus from size to fit. Shoppers have complimentary access to the Fitcode digital service across their devices. To get started, a woman takes a short, four-question quiz that matches her with one of nine different Fitcodes based on her unique body type. Once her Fitcode is identified, she can browse a curated selection of denim from supported brands, and shop through the Fitcode site, or directly at a favorite retailer's site.
The company announced $1.8M in Series A funding from investment firm, Harvey Partners. The funding will be used to scale operations, build a native mobile app and enhance user experience by adding more denim brands. Additionally, Fitcode will cultivate a partnership program with retailers.
"For many women, the experience of online shopping is a point of frustration with no standard sizing across brands," said Rian Buckley, CEO and co-founder of Fitcode. "Fitcode removes the guesswork from denim shopping to create a win-win for digital shoppers and retailers. We're excited to help women find denim they love and reduce costly returns for brands and retailers."
The idea for Fitcode was born when Buckley was modeling for big brands and retailers. She was struck by the amount of pinning, altering and Photoshop required to make clothing look good during fashion shoots. Simultaneously, she observed many retailers complaining about the high cost of customer returns.
Buckley realized not only was there a very real disconnect between the images shoppers saw online and the actual product a consumer purchases, but there are also no standardized measurements across brands (especially true for denim), which makes for a frustrating guessing game for online shoppers. By shifting the focus from size to fit, she found consumers could shop online with confidence and find jeans that not only fit, but flatter their unique body shape.
"After seeing the opportunity, we wanted to get involved as early as possible because Fitcode is one of the few young technology companies with a woman in leadership," said Harvey Partners CEO and founder Brett Campbell. "Fitcode is easy to use yet it is a sophisticated technology and solving a real problem in online retail. Everything about this investment made sense."
Handpicked Selection to Shop the Right Fit
Fitcode Denim Boutique visitors browse through an online selection of jeans handpicked to fit and flatter their unique body shape. Each style of jean in the Fitcode Denim Boutique is hand measured from different specifications and researched for stretch and fabric content. Women can filter to find jeans that fit their own personal style, and save jeans to favorites. They're also able to watch short videos, showing the jeans in action, so women can see how the denim fits on a similar body type.
Fitcode is free to consumers and available online at www.fitcode.com. It supports a growing number of retail and denim partners include Nordstrom, 7 For All Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, Hudson, J Brand, JOE's Jeans, Kut from the Kloth, Not Your Daughter's Jeans and Paige. Fitcode will continue to add brands, retailers and plus sized denim in coming months.
About Fitcode
Based in Seattle, Fitcode is a fashion technology company focused on transforming the experience of online shopping. Founded in 2014, Fitcode aims to fix the disconnect between real women and less-than-real product images. Created by women and for women, Fitcode is changing the focus from size to fit to help women of all shapes and sizes find denim they love. For more information about the perfect fit, please visit: www.fitcode.com.
About Harvey Partners
Harvey Partners is a Seattle-based investment company with a team of individuals that assist and develop founders and their people in early stages of building great businesses. Launched in 2013, Harvey Partners has made several investments in enterprise software, biotech and cloud-based platforms. Harvey Partners focuses on passionate people, easy to use technology and innovative business models. For more information, please visit: www.harvey-partners.com.
SOURCE Fitcode
Share this article