By Jennifer Ford
- Securing $100M in funding to expand could give Savage x Fenty brand a valuation of $1B
- Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty brings in about $150M in revenue but is not yet profitable
Rihanna’s lingerie brand, Savage x Fenty, has engaged Goldman Sachs (GS -2.74%) to spearhead a $100 million fundraiser. Reportedly the capital raised could be funneled into not only an expansion into the European market, but also a line of athletic wear. Although the brand was only launched in 2018, Savage x Fenty is in a position to be the global leader in the lingerie market by 2025, the same year that women’s activewear is expected to reach a $216.9 billion value.
Why This Matters: Savage x Fenty has been crushing the sales and the cool factor of the legacy leader of lingerie Victoria’s Secret. The struggling company was sold to a private equity firm for around 15% of its $7.37 billion fiscal 2018 sales. As Victoria’s Secret continues to flail under their antiquated practices, Savage x Fenty has proved that diversity and inclusion in sizing, access, and marketing has led to an even greater goal, equity in feeling sexy.
Securing $100 million in funding to expand could give Savage x Fenty brand a valuation of $1 billion
Rihanna’s line may be the blow that makes Victoria’s Secret take a bow. Therefore, all leading women’s athletic wear brands like Athleta and Lululemon (LULU -2.73%) should take notice. Securing $100 million in funding to expand could give Savage x Fenty brand a valuation of $1 billion. Not to mention that Rihanna is a rare case, in that the Caribbean Black woman raised $70 million from Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners, Avenir Growth Capital, and TriplePoint Ventures so far for Savage x Fenty
Situational Awareness: A survey by ProjectDiane found that Black women received 0.27% of total venture capital investment between 2018 and 2019. The lack of access to institutional venture capital is a determining factor in how Black women run their businesses. With more access to capital, Black women business owners like her would be able to scale their unique approaches to business that not only accommodate a wider demographic, but yield higher revenues in the long-run.
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Jennifer is a former HBO Production Risk Executive, now spending her days as a Marketing Consultant for MOWE, nights podding about all the things, and her in-betweens blogging about the seriousness and silliness of life. Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @reneseford or Instagram: @oksoblog
