Localised, a New York-based ecommerce startup that helps local brands expand globally, today announced it has raised a $6.5m investment to fuel expansion into Europe, Americas, Middle East and the rest of Asia. The round was led by BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor in growth businesses, and leading entrepreneur, Peter Jones.
According to the company, Localised plans to use the new capital infusion to continue its expansion into the world’s top 20 ecommerce markets, across Europe, Americas, Middle East and the rest of Asia, and to continue innovating in areas such as localised merchandising, global pricing syndication and global CRM, while also expanding into new verticals.
Founded in 2017 by Kris Green and Peter Jones, Localised also builds, designs, hosts, operates, markets and optimizes completely localised ecommerce experiences for brands in foreign markets. It is the first all-inclusive global ecommerce business, helping coveted brands go global by being local, in all respects. Localised is based in New York City, Toronto, London, Warsaw, Bucharest and Hong Kong.
Localised is reimagining how brands and shoppers transact across borders, languages, currencies and cultures. By producing entirely localised ecommerce sites in the world’s top markets in 20 days or less with just a product feed, Localised helps brands go global by being local, in all respects. Built for fashion and lifestyle brands looking to take the next step in their global expansion, the ecommerce sites produced by Localised are built on top of technology that orchestrates translation, local payments, local sizing, local pricing, local merchandising, local marketing, local customer service and more. All with no integration required.
Localised currently works with brands such as Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Everlane and Crate & Barrel, and helps them tap into markets like Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan through highly localised country-specific ecommerce.
“We believe the work we do at Localised is more important than ever. As sales move increasingly online in all markets, brands need to be relatable to as many customers as possible. We are thrilled that our platform is already helping our customers see gains in new markets in traffic, conversion, demand, repeat visitors, customer satisfaction and most importantly, new customers. At the end of the day, helping brands connect with more new customers through localised and thoughtful ecommerce is our entire purpose. This investment from BGF and Peter Jones will help Localised realize our own growth ambitions and together with our customers, help us shape the future of how we transact across borders,” Kris Green, CEO of Localised, said.
Peter Jones said: “Localised is an exciting business with an innovative offering, being delivered by an exceptional team. This new partnership with BGF will see us combine forces to not only jointly invest in high-potential companies but to use our shared vision as champions of UK enterprise to support scaling businesses with unrivalled networks and expertise.”
Stephen Welton, CEO of BGF said: “Localised truly has a USP in its market, being the only provider to localise international ecommerce for brands, and it also aligns brilliantly with our existing portfolio of over 300 companies – as a business with an ambitious management team and clear growth opportunity. We are delighted to be working alongside Peter Jones CBE in supporting this business along its growth trajectory and expanding its offering for more brands, in more markets.”
