News

December 13, 2018
Minted raises new capital to fuel expansion

Minted has raised $208 million in their Series E financing from the Permira funds as well as funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Minted plans to use the financing to expand into new channels and reach more consumers.

Photo: Minted

The new capital will be used to grow Minted’s wholesale and licensing businesses, leveraging its archives of thousands of unique designs to help retail and brand partners, like West Elm and Pottery Barn Kids, source data-backed design from independent artists around the world.

“The retail industry is undergoing once in a generation change, and competitiveness hinges on offering unique design. By using its proprietary crowdsourcing process and predictive analytics to curate products that are likely to sell, Minted has proven the ability to grow in multiple categories,” said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund. “Minted is successfully both selling directly to customers and supplying other retailers. It has the ability to build a much larger company.”

Mariam Naficy founded Minted in 2007 with the goal of building a retail brand that would stay fresh forever, by handing over assortment decisions to the crowd rather than relying on a few merchants’ decisions. The company sources all stationery, wall art and home decor designs through design competitions that are open to everyone regardless of formal education. Consumers are invited to rate designs, and the company uses advanced analytics to evaluate customers’ ratings and decide what to sell.

“To be an independent creative today is tough; there is little infrastructure to bring your work to the world in large-scale distribution,” said Naficy, Minted Founder and CEO. “Few artists are lucky enough to be able to do it on their own, and the rest have to rely on a system that isn’t transparent or meritocratic, and by nature edits their work. This funding marks a major milestone for Minted and for the idea that meritocracy — and getting design in its purest form from creator to consumer — ultimately produces the best business results.”

The investments were led by Permira’s Brian Ruder, Co-Head of Technology and Partner, and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.’s Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund.
Prior to its Series E, Minted had raised $91 million from Ridge Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Menlo Ventures.

For more information on Minted, please visit www.minted.com.




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