Dive Brief:

• Apparel marketplace application Spring announced that it has signed Uniqlo, Urban Outfitters and American Apparel to participate in its multi-brand selling platform. 
• Spring and Japanese basics retailer Uniqlo announced their partnership by giving away vests at the annual South by Southwest event in Austin, TX this week. 
• Free to join, Spring has attracted many emerging brands to sell on its m-commerce platform since launching in 2014. 

Dive Insight:

Spring, the Google-backed e-commerce startup that allows consumers to shop multiple brands from a single mobile app, has attracted three big retail brands—Uniqlo, Urban Outfitters and American Apparel. While the platform has always sought to offer clothing at all price points to encourage browsing and discovery, the addition of larger sellers (and especially Uniqlo) is seen as a big “get,” and signals the first time Uniqlo has sold its apparel through a third party.

Well-known worldwide, Uniqlo sells colorful basics and tech garments at affordable prices, and often collaborates with emerging designers on special collections. The fast-fashion retailer operates relatively few brick-and-mortar stores outside its native Japan and only about a dozen in the United States, and recently scaled back plans for new locations in favor of expanding its e-commerce initiatives.

Spring has attracted some $36 million in venture capital investment. Its app resembles Instagram or Pinterest in appearance but allows users to buy with just a swipe. Spring offers dozens of cutting-edge designer labels such as Band of Outsiders, Marc Jacobs and Thakoon, as well as a few more familiar names such as Levi’s and Warby Parker. But the introduction of big omnichannel sellers that share its fashion-forward positioning may give the platform the traction it needs to attract additional brands and become a smartphone staple. 

Earlier this month, Spring partnered with the hit mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, allowing gamers to dress their avatars in brands available through Spring and to shop items as well. According to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood's developer, Glu Mobile, the popular game was installed 22,857,239 times between its June release and November of last year, with users spending a total of 5.7 billion minutes on the game during that time.