MyShape has received another $5.5 million in funding from its investors, bringing its total capitalization so far to $33.5 million. The company was founded in 2006 with an ambitious plan to improve shopping online by matching up women with clothes that flatter them through a questionnaire. “We’re advocates for women, we want to help every woman develop her sense of style,” said chief executive Mercedes De Luca.
The Los Angeles-based firm plans to use the money to increase its assortment and expand its social marketing and personalization features.
Over the last year, MyShape has streamlined its operations, cutting staff and simplifying its processes. A recent redesign added customer ratings and the ability to share personalized shops with friends.
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In 2011, the company intends to carry more merchandise through a revenue share arrangement with its vendors rather than buying inventory outright. MyShape will photograph the clothes to display them in its online store, and the brands will drop ship directly to the customers or MyShape will take the clothes on consignment and handle the fulfillment.
The retailer carries a broad range of sizes, including plus sizes, and styles intended to flatter a variety of shapes. The target customer is a working woman who spends $1,000 or more on clothes every year and has an income of $50,000 to $70,000 or more.
The site has about 450,000 registered users who have filled out the questionnaire and traffic of about 98,000 unique visitors a month, according to Google Analytics.
A year ago, founder and former ceo Louise Wannier became executive chairman of the board. Before joining MyShape, De Luca was formerly vice president of global information technology for Yahoo. Investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Tenaya Capital.
The fit technology has not decreased returns as initially thought but has increased loyalty, said De Luca.