Retail chain Foot Locker has provided $15m of series A funding for US-based women’s activewear e-commerce brand Carbon38, increasing its overall funding to $26m.
Founded in 2013, Carbon38 sources luxury activewear products from a range of curated designers and sells the clothing through its e-commerce platform. It also produces its own premium range of apparel.
Katie Warner Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Carbon38, said: “This funding enables us to accelerate our path of rapid growth and achieve our mission of defining a new category of luxury active ready-to-wear for women.”
Foot Locker already owns a female-focused fitness apparel and footwear brand called Six:02. Lauren Peters, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Foot Locker, will join Carbon38’s board of directors in conjunction with the company’s investment.
Peters said: “Katie and the team at Carbon38 have done an amazing job creating a brand with an extremely loyal following in the fitness and fashion worlds.
“In addition to the support of Carbon38’s exceptional growth potential that our investment provides, we expect to leverage the team’s keen industry insights and focus in order to elevate our own Six:02 banner’s performance.”
Carbon38 has not diclosed many details of past funding, though Inc reported in 2015 that venture capital firm Montage Ventures and family office Winklevoss Capital Management had participated in a $5m round for the company.
Carbon38’s existing backers also include CNF Investments and BBG Ventures, respective investment vehicles for construction and investment firm Clark Enterprises and online media group Oath, as well as Otter Rock Capital, M3 Ventures and M13.