Shoes of Prey, the Australia-baed online customizable footwear company, has added an impressive roster of backers to support its U.S. expansion and the construction of a new factory in China. The company announced that it has raised $6.5 million in venture capital through the Series A round led by U.S.-based Khosla Ventures.
New investors include Bonobos CEO and co-founder Andy Dunn and ThirdLove co-founders David Spector and Heidi Zak. Existing investors include Blackbird Ventures, Bill Tai of Southern Cross Ventures and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes. Previously, the company raised $4.75 million in 2012 and 2013.
In November, Shoes of Prey announced it had struck a deal with Nordstrom to open six concession outlets in stores across the U.S. Customers will have a chance design their own shoe, from heel height to fabric, inside the department store.
Shoes of Prey co-founder Jodie Fox told BRW that moving offline is the “way to go.” She added, “We’re finding it to be a really excellent customer acquisition channel, and that’s the main thing start-ups want to crack as they grow.”
To meet the growing demand, the company plans to a second factory in Asia that will be five times bigger than their first, which is located in Southeast Asia. Fox told BRW that sales have been growing 50 percent year-on-year and gross profits increased 250 percent in the past 12 months. While sales have been slowing, Fox expects sales to “explode” next year.