SportPursuit, a flash sales site based in the UK, nabbed £5M from its Series B financing round led by London-based venture capital firm DFJ Esprit and participated in by Silicon Valley Bank and angel investors William Reeve, Chairman of Graze.com and Co-Founder of LOVEFiLM; Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla; Alex Saint, CEO of Secret Escapes, TechCrunch reported.
As a flash sales site, the one million-member strong SportPursuit is similar to The Clymb based in the US. It sends its members time-limited "exclusive" offers from over 600 brands. The offers, from leading sports brands like Marmot, Helly Hansen, Canterbury, Garmin, GoPro and Icebreaker, typically expire after 7 days, the report said.
Although sites like Fab have started weaning off flash sales and some venture capitalists have casted doubt on the durability of the model itself, other investors continue to hold high hopes about it. The TechCrunch report said that it could be a matter of flash sales doing better in some verticals compared to others.
As more dedicated customers are lured to the sports category, the spontaneity and discovery of flash sales makes for a good fit. According to SportPursuit, its Internet-based, data-driven approach enables the company to provide every member a relevant, fresh and interesting offer each day. This also allows brands to use the platform as an avenue for growth, the report said.
Proceeds of the financing will be used to increase its UK product line as the firm seeks to get more brands to the platform. It also intends to use the funds to expand in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia. SportPursuit said it already has members living out of UK and that its products are shipped in over 40 countries, TechCrunch reported.The latest financing round brings an estimated £6.4 million total funds raised by the flash sales site since it was founded a couple of years ago, the report said.
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