The shoe-customization business continues to pick up steam.
Shoes of Prey, the Australia-born company that allows women to design their own shoes online, just nabbed $15.5 million in Series B funding from a string of investors.
After the company rolled out physical design studios in six Nordstrom Inc. department stores over the past year, Nordstrom is taking another bet on the firm.
“It’s incredibly exciting that after opening six stores with Nordstrom that financial investment has followed,” said Shoes of Prey co-founder Jodie Fox. “This investment is a huge vote of confidence in the future of mass customization from a formidable retail giant.”
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Other investors for this round of funding, the largest Shoes of Prey has received to date, include BlueSky Venture Capital, Greycroft Partners and Khosla Ventures — which led Shoes of Prey’s $5.5 million Series A-2 funding in 2014.
Shoes of Prey would not disclose the amounts donated by each investor but confirmed that Khosla upped its investment this time around.
Fox said the investment will fund omnichannel growth and help scale production facilities. The shoes customized by Shoes of Prey users are manufactured at a factory in Dongguan, China.
Fox and the other co-founders, Michael Fox and Mike Knapp, launched Shoes of Prey in 2009. Since then, the firm has opened new digs in Santa Monica, Calif., as it seeks to expand its global footprint.
Fox said the company — which offers flats, heels, wedges, sandals and boots — plans to go deeper into the boot-customization business.
“Perhaps the line I am most excited about is boots,” said Fox. “We’re looking to solve the problem women have in getting long boots that fit their calves properly. We’re targeting winter 2016.”
In addition to its presence in Nordstrom stores in the U.S., the company has a design studio in Sydney, Australia, in David Jones Department Store.
The company said shoesofprey.com has had 5 million unique viewers visit in the past year and that shoppers have designed 5 million shoes on the site.
Last year, Emmy Award-winning costume designer Janie Bryant, best known for her work on “Mad Men” and “Deadwood.” teamed up with Shoes of Prey for a capsule collection.
