HIGHSNOBIETY RAISES USD 8.5 MILLION VENTURE ROUND

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Investor interest in the streetwear space is growing rapidly. After Supreme joined forces with The Carlye Group, highly influential streetwear and youth culture title Highsnobiety has raised an USD 8.5 million Series A round led by London-based venture firm Felix Capital, with additional details on the deal remaining undisclosed. Highsnobiety plans to use the new funding to help scale its branded content, e-commerce and events businesses. 

The company, which has offices in Berlin, New York and London, has been profitable since its inception, with revenue growing 100 percent year-on-year for the past three years. With over nine million unique monthly visitors, of which 80 percent visit the website daily, Highsnobiety has become one of the world’s top destinations for daily curated content on fashion, music, the arts and culture. In addition, the company releases a bi-annual print magazine that today has a circulation of 50,000 copies and What Drops Now offers an editorialised shopping experience that attracts 500,000 visitors a month. Highsnobiety plans to use the money to boost its branded content division and to grow its events business. "Experiences really took off for us last year and we really see this as a big growth opportunity, both on the partner side, but also sizing our own brand in the world more than we do today," Fischer says. 

The new funding will also enable Highsnobiety to grow its e-commerce business. Currently, over 40 percent of readers have bought a product from Highsnobiety's website. “We’re looking at how a platform like ours can differentiate from your regular online shopping that’s out there,” said Fischer. “People come to us already to be told what to shop, so what if we can find innovative ways to reinvent shopping as a media brand?”