Beyond the Rack Gears Up For Next Phase Of Growth With $25 Million Equity Round

Leading online shopping club closes equity round and adds management to fuel long term growth

MONTREAL, Nov. 26, 2013 /CNW/ - Montreal-based e-commerce leader Beyond the Rack today announced that it recently closed a $25 million investment round led by Investissement Quebec, Iris Capital and Tandem Expansion Fund. Current investors Highland Capital Partners, Panorama Capital, BDC Venture Capital IT Fund and iNovia Capital also participated in the round.

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Proceeds from the current round of funding will be used to further accelerate the strategies for long-term growth of the company and its active customer base.

"We are extremely excited about what this additional capital will allow the company to achieve over the coming years. It is earmarked for important investments in logistics, technology and future growth," says Yona Shtern, CEO of Beyond the Rack.

The company has grown from a start-up four years ago to a market leader with over 10 million consumer members, 5,000 brand partnerships and world-class e-commerce operations in both Canada and the United States.

"Beyond the Rack has built impressive scale and a market leading position in e-commerce. As an existing investor, we are particularly excited about having the opportunity to expand our involvement and continue supporting the team," says Alex Moorhead, Managing Partner at Tandem Expansion Fund.

Alex Moorhead from Tandem Expansion Fund will be joining the Beyond the Rack board of directors.

Alexander Wiedmer, Partner from Iris Capital says, "As a global investor we have broad exposure to e-commerce internationally and have been impressed by Beyond the Rack's world-class unit level economics and operations. It is ideally positioned to be an industry and market leader as
e-commerce continues to expand in both Canada and the United States."

The company also confirmed two recent executive announcements as it re-enforces its management team for long-term growth.

Mike Bhaskaran recently joined the company in the position of Chief Operating Officer - responsible for global logistics, transportation, fulfillment and technology. He comes to BTR with extensive relevant operations experience at e-commerce industry leaders including Amazon, Starbucks, Gap and Dell.

Jim Weinberg was recently promoted to President and Chief Merchandising Officer. Jim previously held the role of CMO and has been with BTR for 4 years. Prior to joining the company, he held executive positions at Burlington Coat Factory, Kellwood and May Company.

About Beyond the Rack

Beyond the Rack, North America's leading e-commerce platform, offers its 10 million members the most sought-after designer brand apparel, accessories, beauty, and home decor products at up to 80% off retail. Products are sold in the context of two-day, first-come, first-served, limited-quantity events. Members can expect up to 30 new events each day. The privately held company has offices in Montreal, Toronto, New York and Las Vegas.

About Tandem Expansion Fund

Tandem Expansion is a private growth capital fund with over $300 million in committed capital actively seeking to invest in small and mid-sized Canadian companies in a variety of technology-based sectors. Tandem acts as a catalyst for growth and expansion by making significant investments in established companies with high growth potential and strong management teams.

About Investissement Quebec

Investissement Quebec's mission is to foster the growth of investment in Quebec, thereby contributing to economic development and job creation in every region. The Corporation offers businesses a full range of financial solutions, including loans, loan guarantees and equity investments, to support them at all stages of their development. It is also responsible for administering tax measures and prospecting for foreign investment.

About Iris Capital

Iris Capital is a pan-European venture capital fund manager specialized in the digital economy. Since its inception in 1986, the Iris Capital team has invested more than €950 million ($1.3 billion) in more than 220 companies. Iris Capital targets opportunities in service or technology companies, seeking growth capital in order to realize their strategy. It provides active support to its portfolio companies on the basis of its strong sector specialization and experience, and has offices in Paris, Düsseldorf, Montreal, San Francisco, Riyadh, Dubai, Beijing and Tokyo. In 2012, Iris Capital has entered into a strategic partnership with Orange and Publicis to manage their joint venture initiative.

About Highland Capital Partners LLC

For the past twenty years, Highland Capital Partners has taken a sector-focused approach to investing in exceptional seed through later stage growth companies in the healthcare, internet & digital media and technology markets. Highland actively seeks to provide the right mix of strategic guidance, hands-on leadership and deep industry domain expertise for helping entrepreneurs and their teams become market-leading organizations. With over $3 billion of committed capital and offices in Boston, Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Geneva, Highland has invested in and worked to create such firms as Ask Jeeves, Avid Technology, CheckFree, Conor Medsystems, Continental Cable, Generation Health, lululemon athletica, Lycos, MapQuest, Ocular Networks, Odyssey Healthcare, Quigo, Starent Networks, Sybase, Telica and VistaPrint.

About Panorama Capital Partners

Panorama Capital seeks investment opportunities in life sciences and technology companies led by dynamic, experienced entrepreneurs. Leveraging two decades of investment and operating experience, the team invests in mid to later stage financings primarily in the consumer and mobile segments in technology, and biopharmaceuticals in life sciences. Panorama partners with its portfolio management teams to bring its experience and extensive network to bear on solving strategic challenges, building teams and accelerating growth. The partners are proud to have invested in and worked with numerous successful companies including Digital Island, ONI Systems, Myogen, Petco Animal Supplies, Kinkos, Eyetech, Piramed, Seattle Genetics, Corus Pharma, Federated Media, 1-800-Flowers.com, and Portal Player, among others.

About the BDC Venture Capital IT Fund

The BDC Venture Capital IT Fund is a $152 million fund with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal as well as strong links to Silicon Valley. Investments are typically early stage companies in the enterprise, Internet and mobile sectors. The fund has invested in many successful companies including Layer 7 (acquired by CA Technologies), Radian6 (acquired by Salesforce), Opalis (acquired by Microsoft) and Q1 Labs (acquired by IBM). We are a part of BDC Venture Capital, an investor of choice with more than $1 billion under management. Find out more at www.bdc.ca/vc or on Twitter @BDC_VC.

About iNovia

iNovia partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build successful companies in high growth sectors. The team is comprised of entrepreneurs and sector experts focused on Mobile, Internet and Digital Media. iNovia has $165M under management across two seed and early stage funds.

Press contact
Beyond the Rack
Jacqueline Stein-Elman
514-733-4666 X3588
[email protected]

SOURCE: Beyond the Rack

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