JOOR Raises $15 Million 'Series B' Funding

NEW YORK, July 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- JOOR, the first and leading online wholesale fashion marketplace that connects more than 600 brands and 40,000 retailers, today announced it has raised $15 million in Series B funding. The financing round was led by Canaan Partners, with participation from Advance Publications, parent company of Conde Nast and its Fairchild Fashion Media division and existing investors Battery Ventures, Forerunner Partners, and Lerer Ventures.  The investment will be used to further expand the company's global footprint. JOOR will increase investments in technology and sales infrastructure, to fuel growth momentum and maintain its market-leader position. To date, JOOR has raised more than $20 million in capital.  

"JOOR has established clear leadership in bringing disruptive innovation to one of the largest markets in the world, namely the $350 billion luxury fashion market," said Dan Ciporin, general partner at Canaan Partners. "Through its unique online marketplace platform, JOOR enables leading luxury fashion brands on an exclusive basis to connect seamlessly to any retailer anywhere.  JOOR is a great fit for Canaan's marketplace strategy, and we are tremendously excited and proud to be part of the JOOR growth story with this investment."

Added Gina Sanders, president and CEO of Fairchild Fashion Media, a division of Conde Nast, "JOOR's ability to digitally connect brands and retailers will be, we believe, transformational for the global fashion industry. We are excited to be collaborating with the platform to help bring its vision and services to a larger audience."

The JOOR platform connects brands and retailers in the luxury and high-end contemporary space, including rag & bone, 3.1 Phillip Lim, McQ by Alexander McQueen, See by Chloe, Net-a-Porter, Barneys and Lane Crawford. Using the JOOR website and its mobile applications, brands can quickly upload their collections and connect with buyers, receive real time analytics and projections and eliminate paperwork and manual data entry.

"We are committed to maintaining our market-leader position as the de facto platform for luxury brands and retailers to transact," said Mona Bijoor, JOOR CEO. "JOOR is eager to move into new international markets and expand our team to further support our sales and technology infrastructure."

About JOOR
JOOR, the first and leading online wholesale fashion marketplace, brings the entire buying process for retailers and designers into one sleek, sophisticated platform. Using the JOOR website, iPad app, and upcoming iPhone app, brands and retailers can easily connect with one another, anytime, anywhere. Brands can upload their entire line quickly and easily, and buyers can browse all of the latest linesheets and select their desired merchandise much as they would purchase an item from an e-commerce store. There are currently more than 600 brands and 40,000 retailers using the JOOR platform, including rag & bone, 3.1 Phillip Lim, McQ by Alexander McQueen, See by Chloe, Net-a-Porter, Barneys and Lane Crawford. For more information, visit JOORAccess.com.

About Canaan Partners Technology
Canaan Partners invests in entrepreneurs and works alongside them to turn visionary ideas into valuable companies.  Since 1987, the firm has catalyzed the growth of disruptive technology startups and healthcare companies revolutionizing the practice of medicine.  With $3.4 billion under management and more than 95 acquisitions and 55 IPOs to date, Canaan has funded companies such as Acme Packet, Associated Content (acquired by Yahoo), CommerceOne, DoubleClick (acquired by Google), ID Analytics (acquired by LifeLock), Match.com (acquired by IAC), SandForce (acquired by LSI), SuccessFactors (acquired by SAP), Tremor Video (TRMR) and Virsto Software (acquired by VMware).  Current technology investments include Blurb, Kabam, Lending Club, Performance Marketing Brands, SOASTA and Zoosk in the U.S.; BharatMatrimony and UnitedLex in India; and PrimeSense and LiveU in Israel.  Canaan maintains a presence in the global innovation hubs of Silicon Valley, New York City, India and Israel.  For more information visit www.canaan.com or www.facebook.com/canaanpartners.

About Advance Publications, Inc.
Advance Publications, Inc., is a privately held communications company that, directly or through subsidiaries, owns Conde Nast, Parade Publications, Fairchild Fashion Media, American City Business Journals, the Golf Digest Companies, and newspapers in more than twenty-five American cities; Advance Publications' subsidiaries also have extensive interests in cable television, as well as in Internet sites which are related to its print publications.

SOURCE JOOR