ME+EM crowdfunding campaign beats records, raises £1.4m

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Apr 4, 2017

Contemporary womenswear brand ME+EM has raised £1.39m on Crowdcube, achieving the largest and fastest fashion raise ever done through the platform.

The UK brand founded in 2009 by Clare Hornby was initially targeting £700,000 to fund its digital marketing initiatives and boost its customer conversion online.

The campaign lasted four weeks and ended a week early on 24 March, raising 192% of the target.

ME+EM sells designer quality clothes at low prices, a business model it has built by cutting out the middle man and delivering directly from the factory to consumer. It has two stores in central London and a website that gets 125,000 hits a month.

It said the investment will help it grow its digital presence to take advantage of the fast growing online premium fashion segment. Online currently accounts for 20% of ME+EM’s sales of clothing and footwear, and it’s expected to increase to 30% by 2020.

The business is backed by venture capital trust Pembroke VCT, Carphone Warehouse co-founder Charles Dunstone and London-based venture capital firm Venrex.