E-commerce lingerie brand Adore Me set to open hundreds of brick and mortar locations
Since its founding in 2011, Adore Me has made its mark on the e-commerce world selling fun, affordable lingerie for women of all sizes. If you’re a woman between the ages of 18 and 60, chances are you’ve seen the brand’s advertising on any number of website sidebars.
It turns out the brand is popular for a reason; so popular in fact that Adore Me is planning on opening retail locations as soon as this year. According to reports, the company anticipates its retail locations will be “experiential,” with amenities like bars, lounges and home delivery.
Unlike other e-commerce brands, Everlane for example, who have waded into the brick and mortar waters with one-off or pop-up stores basically built for Instagram, Adore Me intends to open a whopping 300 retail stores in the next five years, with as many as 10 stores opening in New York City this year.
One reason that may account for Adore Me’s sudden explosion onto the brick and mortar scene is the narrow stream of competition. Whereas the aforementioned Everlane, and similarly-modeled businesses like Warby Parker have hundreds of different competitors, Adore Me is only rivaled by Victoria’s Secret, the largest player in the lingerie game. With Victoria’s Secret’s quarterly earnings on the decline, Adore Me might just slide onto the scene and make waves.
Knotel raises $70 million Series B round with major support from NYC real estate
Workspace provider Knotel has opened a staggering 40 locations across the world in just two years of existence. Crowning their impressive achievements is a $70 million Series B round, closed earlier this week. Leading the round was Newmark Knight Frank and The Sapir Organization, two of the leading real estate firms in the city.
“What they’re doing is different,” said Barry Gosin, CEO of Newmark Knight Frank, in a statement on the funding. “It’s a new category the industry hasn’t seen and is rapidly adopting. We’ve watched their ascent from a distance and are now thrilled to join them on the journey. It marks a shift in how owners and tenants are coming together.”
Gosin points to the sudden and impactful onset of co-working, co-living and co-everything. For now, Knotel is one of the many companies at the forefront of this societal shift in how we interact with our environments. It will be interesting to see if the trend proves lasting, and how companies like Knotel will evolve to appease shifting tastes and tides.
Uber casually buys JUMP Bikes for undisclosed, nine-figure amount
JUMP Bikes has proven a tough company to pin down. The startup, founded in 2010, is headquartered in New York City, yet operates its dockless e-bikes in San Francisco. Now, the company has been acquired by another Bay Area transportation giant, Uber, after closing a $10 million funding round just two months ago.
It was rumored earlier this week that JUMP and Uber were in talks, and TechCrunch confirmed the deal on April 9. While the precise figures have not been made public, those close to the deal report that it close to the $200 million mark.
2017 was a tricky year for Uber, who found itself reworking its C-Suite as well as several of its products. Still, the JUMP Bikes team remains confident that Uber’s size and global visibility will offer the bike company what it needs to scale as rapidly as it desires. Uber, too, is equally confident about this strategic move as the company hopes to expand its fleet of transportation options. Next, we propose that Uber purchase the MTA and revamp that.
Odds and Ends
Spotify and Hulu just announced a bundle deal: get both streaming services for $12.99 a month. Tell your roommates!
The incoming New York State budget reportedly includes $6 million allotted for computer science training for teachers.
Majorly un-chill hackers removed the music video for “Despacito” from YouTube. The song, in addition to being the vibe of summer 2017, was also the most-watched clip on YouTube.
Have you checked to see if Cambridge Analytica may have used your Facebook data for their shady purposes? If you haven’t yet, find out how.
Calling all artists! Submissions for the NYC Resistor Interactive Art Show are now open. This year’s theme is “self-driving carbs” (interpret as you will) and the exhibition will open on June 2.
