Birchbox, a US-based beauty product subscription service backed by mass media group Comcast, has secured $15m in convertible note funding from existing investors, Recode has reported.
The $15m was raised as the company attempts to also organise a credit facility sized at “several million dollars”.
Founded in 2010, Birchbox sends subscribers a box each month containing samples of beauty, grooming and lifestyle products. Customers can, if they like one of the sample products, buy a full-size version from the company’s platform as well.
The company had previously raised $72m in funding but despite sales reportedly rising 20% in the first quarter of 2016, it has been losing money and has cut its workforce by 27 this year. The new financing is intended to keep it running until it becomes cash flow positive.
Comcast’s Comcast Ventures unit invested as part of a $60m series B round in 2014 led by Viking Global Investors and backed by First Round Capital, Accel Partners, Aspect Partners, Glynn Capital, Consigliere Brand Capital, Slow Ventures, Red Swan Ventures, TriplePoint Venture Growth, BDC Corp and angel investor Sam Lessin.
The series B round valued Birchbox at about $500m. The company had raised $1.4m in a 2010 seed round before venture capital firm Accel Partners led a $10.5m series A the following year.