London-based fashion retailer boo.com plans to blaze a global trail in sports fashion with the launch this month of the first online sportswear store, company officials said Monday.
Boo.com has raised launch capital valuing the company at around 125 million pounds ($203 million), according to French luxury goods group LVMH, which is backing it along with Italian fashion chain Benetton.
The sports and footwear market is worth around $60 billion a year worldwide, with Europe accounting for $22 billion, boo.com said.
"Boo.com will be able to provide sportswear for the global market place," a company spokeswoman told Reuters. "It`s a huge e-commerce opportunity."
Merchant bank J.P. Morgan is organising the private equity placing. Participants include Markas Holdings, LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault`s privately owned fund specialising in e-commerce, 21 Investimenti, an investment fund owned by Benetton, and U.S. fund Bain Capital.
A Markus Holding spokesperson declined to say how much the fund had invested but noted that the bulk of the equity was owned by Swedish founders Ernst Malmsten, Kajsa Leander and Patrik Hedelin.
Boo.com will offer a wide range of brands including DKNY, North Face and Puma. The group will also publish an online magazine with features on sports, style and culture as well as interactive games.
Federico Sartor, spokesman for 21 Investimenti, said the fund had invested in boo.com because it believed the future was in electronic commerce, although he added that it was important to be cautious with regard to the Internet.
"It`s important to have a foot in the door at the start of this trend that seems likely to be a revolution," he said.
Boo.com said it would deliver purchases free within five days. The company has distribution centres in Munich and Louisville, Kentucky, for supplying customers in northern Europe and the United States.
A virtual sales assistant called Ms. Boo will welcome customers visiting Boo.com`s Web site and guide them through the products, giving fashion advice. An online dressing room will enable shoppers to try on different items.
Clients will be able to pay in a choice of currencies and choose among English, German and Swedish language services.
Boo.com plans to add another 50 staff to its workforce of 150 in offices in London, New York, Munich and Stockholm. It aims to branch into France, Italy and Spain later this year and eventually into Asia.
"We aim to be the No. 1 in Internet sports retailing," the boo.com spokeswoman said. "You`ll be able to get hold of products sold in other parts of the world that you`ve only been able to read about," she added.
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