By ZHOU Fangying
Fast-fashion brand Urbanic has completed a US$150 million (1 billion yuan) Series C financing round. Investors include Mirabaud Lifestyle Impact & Innovation Fund from Switzerland, New York-based public-private cooperative investment firm D1 Capital Partners, JAM Fund, and other global investors, as well as support from European luxury fashion families.
Similar to the fast-fashion brand Shein, Urbanic makes use of the supply chains in China, Vietnam and India to create low-priced clothing. On the Urbanic website, the most expensive wool coat is under 600 yuan (US$85).
Urbanic's “small orders, quick response" model is the same one used by many Chinese retailers, though Urbanic prefers to refer to its model as "data-driven." Ideally, algorithms will manage the supply chain to achieve "zero inventory."
The product range is not great, but some believe that Urbanic may be the next Shein or Temu. That won’t happen while orders are still delivered by multiple express delivery companies, and there is no estimated delivery time.
Urbanic has performed well in India and also sells in Latin America, Britain and the US. The app had 11 million visits in March. Almost all visitors were under 24, with women outnumbering men by two to one. Shein has twice that many visitors each day.
