London’s fashion tech start-up Fabacus has raised £1 million of seed funding from New Look founder Tom Singh in a bid to help fashion companies improve supply chain efficiency.
The company also reveals that it has hired former JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers employee, Nish Kotecha, as chief financial officer to head a £10 million fundraising for global expansion in the New Year.
Fabacus, which was set up in 2016 by Andrew Xeni and Ray Noppe, offers retailers and clothing manufacturers the technology to see where goods are, what they cost and whether they are ethnically manufactured.
Since coming into business, it has already secured over a dozen contracts with major high-street chains for its supply-chain management software Overture and data-analysis tool, Symphony.
Andrew Xeni, Chief executive, Fabacus
Andrew Xeni, Chief executive, Fabacus said: “There is a huge opportunity for retailers to drive significant cost savings to consumers through better understanding how their products are made. Brexit and e-commerce mean brands are under increasing pressure to improve margins and we’re confident about expanding globally, supporting brands operating around the world.
“We believe Nish can help us to win new backing. Our business has the capability to win customers in the US and China, and more investment will help us scale quickly.”
Kotecha is currently on the main board of the London Chamber of Commerce and founded investment group Sphere Partners. He was previously a director of Capital Markets at BZW, JP Morgan and at Lehman Brothers in 2000-2002 was recognised for specialising into strategy and helping technology companies to fundraise.
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The company has ambitions to become the “Salesforce for fashion”, and claims it has the ability to save retailers around 15 percent on retail prices by streamlining the way manufacturers manage complex supply chains.
Inefficient procurement and a lack of real time information has compressed margins and held back the high street in the face of staunch online completion.
Fabacus highlights that a better understanding of delivery timeframes and the ability to better procure materials could cost manufacturers millions of pounds.
Tom Singh said: “Lean production and big data are buzzwords for some, but with the right software, manufacturers can benefit immensely by creating more potential and by better understanding what’s happening in their business.
