Away, the US-based luggage brand backed by mass media group Comcast, completed a $100m series D round on Tuesday that was led by investment management firm Wellington Management.
The round was closed at a $1.4bn post-money valuation and included investment manager Baillie Gifford, hedge fund Lone Pine Capital and Global Founders Capital (GFC), the venture capital firm formed by the founders of e-commerce holding company Rocket Internet.
Away designs, creates and sells a range of luggage including suitcases and bags as well as organisers, through both its online platform and retail stores. Its suitcases are tailored to conserve space and have an ejectable battery that can be used to charge mobile devices on the go.
The company generated roughly $150m of sales in 2018 and hopes to double that this year. The series D funds will support the expansion of its offering to encompass clothing, wellness and lifestyle products.
Additional capital will support an expansion of its brick-and-mortar retail operations, adding some 50 stores to the six it has opened in the US and one in the UK, as well as international growth.
Steph Korey, Away’s co-founder and CEO, said: “We have been focused on building not just a beloved and quickly-growing brand, but also on building a strong financial foundation. With highly profitable unit economics in place both online and offline, the business is primed for strategic expansion across new products, stores and geographies.”
Away has now raised $156m in equity funding since it was founded in 2015, it said, indicating some of the series D financing likely includes a debt portion.
GFC led the company’s $8.5m series A round in 2016, participating alongside Comcast Ventures, seed investors Forerunner Ventures and Accel, and private investor Barry Sternlicht.
The company added $20m in a mid-2017 series B round led by GFC and backed by Comcast Ventures, Forerunner Ventures and Accel, before securing $50m from Comcast Ventures, Forerunner Ventures and GFC in June 2018.
Photo courtesy of Away.
