Dive Brief:
- Leap, a retail platform helping DTC brands enter brick-and-mortar retail, has secured a $15 million infusion of capital, according to a company release.
- The funding round was led by current investors BAM Elevate and Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Equal Ventures, Hyde Park Ventures and others.
- Leap said in its announcement the fresh funding will help drive growth with existing and new brands, enhance platform capabilities and accelerate the company’s path to profitability.
Dive Insight:
Leap has doubled its network size since January of 2022 when it secured $50 million in Series B financing. The company has worked to open stores with over 55 brands, including Frankies Bikinis, M.M.LaFleur, Public Rec, Mack Weldon and ThirdLove. Others, including Brumate, Nisolo and True Classic, recently opened their first locations with Leap, while Freedom Moses opened a New York City pop-up with Leap earlier this year.
“Now more than ever, brands want immersive retail stores to connect with high value customers directly,” Amish Tolia, co-founder and CEO at Leap, said in a statement. “As Leap grows, our first-party data and operational efficiencies compound, resulting in advantages for both brands and landlords that the traditional in-house retail model simply can’t offer.”
Leap partnered with mall operator Simon Property Group late last year to open stores for digital-first brands at Simon’s mall properties. Leap also works with DTC brands at mall operators Macerich and Westfield.
As more DTC brands look to broaden their customer base through an omnichannel approach, companies like Leap offer to take on the unique differences that arise between online and brick-and-mortar retail.
“If you start off only online, then your brand has to be very good at targeting consumers digitally, and most of your budget is focused on doing that,” Brian Ehrig, partner in the consumer practice of Kearney, said via email. “If you choose to open your own stores, you have so many more things to think about and manage and it can be both a huge cost and a huge distraction.”
Leap’s business model is to work directly with landlords to secure long-term leases and with brands to “design, deploy and operate omnichannel stores on the Leap platform,” Jon Levy, senior vice president of brand management for Leap, said in an email. “Brands pay Leap a monthly operating fee plus a [percent] of sales.”
Leap currently works with stores in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Texas, and Southern Florida, where they plan to open a Malbon Golf store in the Coconut Grove area of Miami later this year, according to Levy.
