Lesara is a Germany-based fast-fashion e-commerce company whose core product is rapid-turnaround apparel sold via its online platform. The company differentiates itself by moving from idea to available product in roughly 10 days. It operates in 24 countries and plans further expansion, including opening a €45 million distribution centre in Erfurt in August and entering one more European country later in the year. Lesara is not yet profitable: it reported a €14 million net loss in 2016, up from €11 million the year before. Reported revenue figures are inconsistent — the company publicly reported a €150 million turnover in 2017 (which includes returns), while investor presentations reportedly showed €71 million. Lesara is an online fashion and lifestyle retailer that sources products directly from factories in China while operating its own warehouses in Europe and China and handling customer service. The company claims roughly 50,000 products listed and says about 75% of its customers are women with lower–medium incomes who shop on impulse. Lesara emphasizes fast time-to-market (shipping sourced goods to its warehouse in 5–15 days) and pricing about 20% cheaper by cutting out middlemen. It uses online data (store rankings, social trends, Google Trends and internal search) to decide which products to source and rapidly produce content and quality checks in China. The model blends direct-sourcing price advantages with a full-retailer customer experience, though the company acknowledges the approach requires more staffing, inventory and logistics than pure marketplaces. Lesara plans to expand product listings significantly and use new capital for further international growth and to bed down in existing markets (Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland). Lesara is an online-only discount retailer that launched its site in Germany in November and targets female shoppers aged roughly 35–40 with families. The site deliberately stocks a limited assortment of about 200–300 items at a time to simplify the shopping experience. The company says it uses business intelligence to cut trend-to-mass-market time by roughly 12 months, minimizes inventory risk through direct sourcing, and fulfills orders directly from manufacturing countries. Lesara positions itself to compete with offline discounters and some online incumbents by combining fast trend spotting, low inventory exposure, and streamlined assortment. Management has indicated China is the most likely location for its next office as part of international expansion. The article notes Lesara secured a seven‑digit seed investment but does not report revenues or other financial metrics.

Total raised

$52M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jul 2018