Apparel manufacturer PVH has agreed to acquire US-based lingerie e-commerce company True&Co for an undisclosed amount, providing an exit for telecommunications and internet group SoftBank.
Founded in 2012, True&Co runs an e-commerce platform that sells bras to women, matching them with products based not only on measurements but on the answers to a proprietary fit quiz that form part of more than 130 million data points it has on 5 million customers.
SoftBank took part in the company’s $2m seed round in 2012 through its since wound down SoftBank Capital subsidiary, investing alongside First Round Capital, SoftTech VC and angel investors Aileen Lee and Ellen Levy.
Crosslink, VegasTechFund, FundersClub and private investor Pejman Nozad added $4m of funding the following year.
Emanuel Chirico, chairman and CEO of PVH, which owns brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, said: “Today’s announcement illustrates our commitment to driving innovation across our business and demonstrates our commitment to making strategic investments in our digital platforms to support our long-term growth initiatives.
“We believe that we can leverage the analytics tools of this data-driven company, while leveraging PVH’s intimates category expertise, including global brand management, product know-how and supply chain.”