The Fashion Kingdom (TFK), an Egyptian e-commerce platform for clothing, accessories, and beauty products, declared today that it had secured $2.6 million in seed funding from CVentures, an Egyptian corporate venture capital firm.
According to TFK, A15, an early-stage venture capital firm in the MENA region that has supported companies like Esaal, Paymob, and the Helios Investment Partners subsidiary, TPay, made a follow-on investment.
Along with Marianne Simaika and Karim Abd El Kader, TFK’s co-founder and CEO Fadi Antaki established the business in January 2020. Six months later, they introduced the e-commerce platform. At A15, Antaki also serves as a general partner.
In Egypt, there was a demand for a platform that sold stylish items and offered quick deliveries, a variety of payment options, and a suggestion function.
In creating The Fashion Kingdom, the chief executive was forced to draw on the skills he learned as a young child growing up in a family with a long history in the apparel industry.
TFK offers a variety of goods, shoes, cosmetics, toiletries, accessories, home fashion, etc. that appeal to various populations.
Through its curated marketplace, which offers users an omnichannel experience and serves as a platform where users can locate all of their fashion needs and swap products as required, the platform assists local and international companies in increasing their online sales.
On The Fashion Kingdom’s platform, there are over 200 brands, and monthly growth is between 10 and 15 percent. It has more than 150,000 consumers, and each month, repeat customers account for around 40% of its revenue.
The platform offers clients additional services in addition to listing all of these brands’ products for their browsing and purchase delight.
With TFK’s support, brands may become familiar with their consumers’ sizes and dress their users for various events.
Additionally, as part of its “360-degree value proposition” for companies, it provides a one-stop shop for services related to operations, co-marketing, and digital content development.
The fashion e-commerce site generates income using both a commission-based consignment model and a conventional one where it adds a markup to products.
Extra services it offers to the businesses, such as photography and marketing, offer supplemental revenue sources. According to Antaki, the company’s overall sales volume increased by 3 times between April 2021 and April 2022.
The worth of the worldwide e-commerce fashion sector was close to $700 billion in 2021. It is anticipated to exceed that amount by the end of 2022 and reach over $1.2 trillion in three years.
The total addressable market in Egypt is estimated at $4.2 billion by Statista. As a result of its benefit to brands, Antaki claims his company is poised to overtake rivals and establish itself as the market leader in Egypt’s fashion e-commerce sector.
Lotus Capital, Raba Capital, Sunny Side Venture Partners, Foundation Ventures, The Cairo Angels, and seasoned members of the fashion business like Paul Antaki and Nasser Chourbagi are among the other investors in the round.
Techbuild’s Take
The fashion business has become more digitally integrated as a result of the worldwide pandemic, but it is safe to argue that this transformation was already underway.
While industries are rapidly embracing digital technology, e-commerce has given retailers in the fashion sector a wide range of possibilities.
Startups that have adopted online tactics have surpassed their conventional competitors because consumers’ screen time has increased during worldwide lockdowns.
The introduction of new technologies has aided businesses in improving the shopping experience for consumers. Brands will be able to deliver more imaginative and rewarding experiences thanks to the growing use of cutting-edge technologies.
The numerous opportunities in fashion e-commerce have made it necessary for investors to investigate the sector in promoting a greater user experience while also extending to a wider audience.
The Fashion Kingdom will use the investment to accelerate its growth, develop scalable technology, and extend its staff, which now has 43% female employees overall and 50% female managers.
The firm aims to fill personnel gaps, develop its technology, streamline operations, and improve the overall client experience, the CEO continued. Basically, investing the money in technology, human capital, and operations.
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