Dive Brief:

• E-commerce men’s retailer Bonobos has raised $55 million in Series D funding, which takes their venture capital funding to more than $127 million.

• The company will use the infusion to add more “Guideshops,” which are brick-and-mortar stores designed for customers to see, feel, and try on clothing and get advice from store staff, but which carry no inventory.

• Bonobos does have a presence in physical stores, including major investor Nordstrom, but purchases through Guideshops are essentially e-commerce.

Dive Insight:

Bonobos was founded in 2007 as an e-retailer, but stumbled on its Guideshop concept in 2011 when it turned its office lobby into a place for men to try on their clothes but buy online. The idea, also used by e-retailers like eyewear purveyor Warby Parker, is a way to blur the lines of e-commerce to everyone’s advantage: Customers get to touch and feel the merchandise while transactions effectively take place online. In fact, Bononobs has insisted for years that men would rather walk out of a retailer without a shopping bag. The retailer is still finding the sweet spot between online and brick-and-mortar, but this new infusion should help it take their Guideshop idea to its best potential.