Lyst raises pre-IPO round as users surge to 150m 

Lyst, the leading global fashion platform, today announces a pre-IPO round of financing of $85m.  

New investors in the raise include certain funds managed by Fidelity International, Novator  Capital, Giano Capital and C4 Ventures, coming in alongside existing investors including Draper  Esprit, Steadfast Financial, 14W, Accel, Balderton Capital, Venrex and LVMH. In addition, serial  entrepreneur and strategic advisor Carmen Busquets increased her investment in the company. 

Lyst saw strong growth continue in 2020, with over 150m shoppers using the Lyst app and  website to buy from an assortment of over 8m products from 17,000 brands and retailers. GMV  last year exceeded $500m, following 1100% growth in new users on the Lyst app. Lifetime GMV  is now over $2bn. 

“Lyst is rapidly becoming a fashion category leader, which hundreds of millions of fashion lovers  rely on to decide what to buy. While our app and website already enjoy very large audiences in  the USA & Europe, fashion ecommerce remains under-penetrated in general, with huge growth  potential globally. We’re excited to use this raise from top-tier investors to continue personalising  the fashion shopping experience to each of our millions of customers, while helping our partner  brands thrive.”  

Chris Morton, CEO & Founder, Lyst 

“Lyst has made huge progress over the past year with its industry leading app for the fast growing online luxury fashion market – a trend which looks set to continue as consumers retain  their newfound digital habits, and demand for fashion rises further post-pandemic. In recent years  we have seen other high-growth fashion tech businesses taking the next step, and we believe  Lyst is well positioned to capitalise on this market momentum. Draper Esprit has backed Lyst  since Series A and we believe this latest round sets the business up for an exciting next phase.” Nicola McClafferty, Partner, Draper Esprit 

Additionally, Lyst announces: 

Mateo Rando joins the Lyst team as Chief Product Officer, coming from Spotify where he was  the Product Director for Mobile Apps globally. Mateo will focus largely on the Lyst app, which last  quarter was the most-downloaded premium fashion iOS app globally. 

Emma McFerran is promoted to Chief Operating Officer and joins the Board, responsible for the  company’s strategic planning, finance, people and legal functions. Emma was previously Chief  People Officer & General Counsel, joining Lyst in 2014. 

“Lyst is building the future of fashion shopping with a data-driven, highly personalised approach.  Over the past few years fashion ecommerce has exploded, with more and more people  managing their entire shopping journey online. I’m excited to join the team and deliver a truly  personalised experience that also balances the chaos and beauty of fashion culture.”  Mateo Rando, Chief Product Officer, Lyst 

-ENDS-

About Lyst 

Lyst is a London-based fashion technology company. Over 150 million shoppers a year use Lyst  to buy from the most comprehensive range of products from the world’s leading fashion brands  and retailers. Brands on Lyst include Balenciaga, Balmain, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Fendi,  Gucci, Moncler, Off-White, Prada, Saint Laurent and Valentino. Lyst operates an inventory free  platform, and uses its proprietary data engine to provide each customer with a highly  personalised shopping experience. Thousands of brands and retailers partner with Lyst to drive  meaningful sales within a highly trusted brand environment. Last year Lyst partnered with Good  on You, an organisation that helps shoppers make informed purchasing decisions by rating  companies based on social and environmental factors. Lyst is also a unique source of fashion  data insights, and is responsible for The Lyst Index, the industry leading report of the hottest  brands and products worldwide. 

Diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our culture. We recognise and celebrate the value  and impact diversity brings to our company and are committed to ensuring this is a consistent  focus, for which we are held to account. In the previous quarter, we exceeded our target for hires  with a BAME background by 25 percentage points.