Refinery29 is an online publisher aimed at millennial women that produces lifestyle content, original video (R29 Originals), branded content, and has launched regional sites such as Germany. Founded in 2004 as a local shopping guide, the company expanded into digital products, event marketing and content creation. It reports roughly 27 million monthly unique visitors and a reach of over 225 million users across platforms. The company has been investing in off-site distribution via social platforms and developing original video and branded initiatives to drive audience growth. Refinery29 has raised $125.4 million to date and is prioritizing expansion into new territories and deeper video offerings. Its stated plans include partnering with larger media companies to integrate content into broader programming and grow cross-platform ad sales. Refinery29 is a multi-vertical digital media platform that produces fashion, lifestyle, and storytelling content aimed at young women. Founded in 2010 as a hyperlocal fashion blog, it has grown into a broader media site with more than 25 million monthly uniques and about 250 employees. Co-CEOs Justin Stefano and Philippe Von Borries said Refinery29 exceeded profitability expectations last year. The company plans to invest heavily in original video content—including comedy, documentary, editorial, and scripted—and expand distribution to television and web platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat. Refinery29 recently hired ex‑Vice executive Amy Emmerich to run its video program and will invest in infrastructure, video strategy, content creation, mobile, and social. It also intends to accelerate international expansion with planned offices in the UK and Germany. Refinery29 is a women’s lifestyle site that began in 2004 as a local shopping guide and has expanded editorially to cover fashion, work, entertaining, health, and tech. The site reported $16.6 in revenue in 2012 and draws about 8.5 million unique visitors per month, with roughly 31% of usage coming from mobile. Editorial plans include deeper coverage in beauty, home, and news and a ramp-up of video content. On the product side the company is prioritizing mobile, with a mobile web app redesign slated for December and a feed-based, endless-scroll experience. Commercially, Refinery29 is investing in branded content and content marketing, running dozens of content partnerships (15 in a typical month and over 50 in its busiest month) and reporting successful sponsor campaigns such as H&M festival content. The site blends sponsored posts with regular editorial while typically marking advertorial partnerships with clear banners. Refinery29 is a fashion news and e-commerce site launched in 2005 in New York City that covers trends and independent designers. It operates local editions in six cities: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The site reports roughly 30 million unique visitors per year. In 2012 the company expected to hit $20 million in revenue, with about a quarter of that from advertising. Refinery29 has been shifting its revenue model away from advertising toward its new online boutiques. Its seed funding round in 2010 included angel investors Ramesh Haridas, Mark Mitchell and Jim Yang. Refinery29 publishes hyperlocal fashion news, trend analysis, profiles of independent designers, beauty content, and local shopping coverage. The site runs its own sample-sale events and plans to expand its city-specific sites beyond New York to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. Refinery29 intends to launch an e-commerce offering within the site to sell many of the fashion designs it writes about. The New York-centric site reports about 1 million visits per month (650,000 uniques) and generated $1.4 million in 2009 revenue from events and advertising. The company views e-commerce and local shopping events as key monetization strategies to differentiate from larger online fashion magazines. Competitors cited include Style.com and local city publications such as New York Magazine and 7X7.

Total raised

$119M

Funding rounds

5

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Aug 2016