By CultureBanx Team
- Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty brand raised a $115M Series B round at a $1B valuation
- In 2020, the company posted revenue growth of more than 200%
Fashion, culture and private equity have collided with Rihanna’s successful Savage x Fenty hitting another major milestone by raising its $115 million Series B funding round, at a $1 billion valuation. Private equity firm L Catterton, in which LVMH (LVMUY -0.57%) has a stake in helped the brand secure this bag for its upcoming retail expansion, and to funnel it into a line of athletic wear. Rihanna’s umbrella (ella, ella) of product lines under her Fenty brand have been extremely successful, with her lingerie brand sitting squarely at the center of business and culture in the $13.1 billion U.S. women’s underwear sector, leaving Savage x Fenty partner LVMH to completely lean in on her diverse business model.
Why This Matters: The lingerie brand posted revenue growth of more than 200% last year, and “increased its active VIP member base by more than 150%,” according to a statement from the company. Savage x Fenty is in a position to be the global lingerie market leader by 2025, the same year that women’s activewear is expected to reach a $216.9 billion value. Rihanna’s brand has proven that diversity and inclusion in sizing, access, and marketing can lead to an even greater goal, equity in feeling sexy.
Less than two years after Rihanna’s high-end Fenty fashion brand launched with LVMH, it’s now being put on “hold” to focus on expanding the lingerie brand
“Following the completion of the fundraising round where L Catterton took a stake in Savage X Fenty, LVMH and Rihanna reaffirmed their ambition to concentrate on the growth and the long-term development of Fenty ecosystem focusing on cosmetics, skincare, and lingerie,” LVMH and Rihanna added in a statement to WWD.
Savage x Fenty has raised $185 million to date, and prior to the new funding, Forbes estimated Rihanna’s stake to be worth about $80 million, that number has only increased now. Return investors such as Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners, Avenir Growth Capital, TriplePoint Ventures, and Avenir, along with new investors including Sunley House Capital, part of Advent International participated in this round. The company also clarified that Goldman Sachs only acted as exclusive placement agent for the Series B financing.
Situational Awareness: Less than two years after Rihanna’s high-end Fenty fashion brand launched with LVMH, it’s now being put on “hold” to focus on expanding the lingerie brand. The coronavirus crisis made it difficult to create eight ready-to-wear collections a year while operating remotely. Not to mention that the global fashion industry experienced a 93% drop in profit in 2020. Rihanna made history as the first woman to create an original brand at LVMH and the first woman of color at the top of an LVMH maison. The e-commerce site for Fenty fashions will go dark by the end of February or early March.
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