Everlane, a San Francisco based online only luxury clothing design and manufacturing company, has launched a self hosted crowdfunding campaign to expand their reach into Canada. The campaign has set a goal of $100,000 (USD) and is well on its way to success having garnered over 640 contributors and over $43,000 raised.
The company views this effort not only as a method to raise capital but also to test demand in the new market;
We want to come to Canada, but we want to do it right. So many retailers enter new markets with little knowledge of whether there’s excitement there. As a young company running a lean business, we want to tread carefully and be smart about our next moves.
There were many discussions around the launch. In one of our team meetings a young engineer said, “Why don’t we kickstart this thing?” And it just felt obvious. We see this as a unique way to bring rewards for those who join early, while testing demand.
Everelane is following the path of several other prominent crowdfunding campaigns which have used the experience as a method to capture marketing data and customer information. Effectively a market research tactic that just happens to raise capital simultaneously.
Everlane aims to provide low-cost, high-quality goods by cutting out middlemen. Typically a designer item may be marked
up eight times before the customer purchases the item. Everlane has “created the shortest path from our designs to your hands”. Their clothing items are created and designed in house. Their objective is to offer “only the best” in each category they offer. They target very high quality fabrics and material sourced from around the world.
Started in 2010 by Michael Preysman, a reformed Venture Capitalist, Everlane has experienced growing success in the world of retail fashion.
Have a crowdfunding offering you'd like to share? Submit an offering for consideration using our Submit a Tip form and we may share it on our site!
