BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
VanMoof has announced a $40 million investment from Norwest Venture Partners, Felix Capital and Balderton Capital.
The Series B financing comes after a $13.5 million investment in May and bolsters VanMoof for further global expansion, giving the company a stronger e-bike market share in North America, Europe and Japan. The funding brings VanMoof’s total raised to $73 million.
“E-bike adoption was an inevitable global shift that was already taking place for many years now but COVID-19 put an absolute turbo on it to the point that we’re approaching a critical mass to transform cities for the better,” said Ties Carlier, co-founder VanMoof.
VanMoof has seen 220% global revenue growth during the worldwide lockdown, selling more bikes in the first four months of 2020 than the previous two years combined.
“Taco, Ties and the VanMoof team have not only built an unparalleled brand and best-selling product, but they’re reshaping city mobility all over the world,” said Stew Campbell, principal at Norwest. “We look forward to supporting the VanMoof team as they expand production, boost rider service solutions, and bring their e-bike experience to new markets.”
The Series B funding will be used to meet the increased demand and shorten delivery times. A significant portion will go towards building a suite of rider service solutions, making “best-in-class” support one of VanMoof’s key pillars. “Our next frontier is to transform our business by building a full support ecosystem around every rider,” said Carlier. This ecosystem includes a global mobile service network, more intuitive app support, smarter software with remote diagnostic solutions, and more proactive customer support.
“Over the next six to twelve months, we’ll have upgraded every step of the customer journey, from production to scheduling check-ups. Getting a VanMoof e-bike serviced will be as easy as ordering a meal online,” added Carlier.
The funding will also drive VanMoof’s expansion into key growth markets such as the US and Germany, where new brand stores and pop-up shops will extend the number of customer touchpoints. Following the expansion of brand stores in Brooklyn, San Francisco and Seattle, a series of pop-ups are planned to open across the US in Spring 2021, in cities including Austin, Chicago, D.C., LA and Portland.
Antoine Nussenbaum, co-founder of Felix Capital, said: “VanMoof is a truly category-defining brand that continues to push the boundaries of service and design. VanMoof stands out not only because they master the hardware and software parts of their e-bikes, designing everything in-house, but also because of their guaranteed quality thanks to ownership over the supply chain in between. We’re excited to join the VanMoof team in their journey to accelerate new transport and commuting behaviours across the world.”
A key growth-driver for VanMoof was the launch of the new VanMoof S3 and X3 in April of this year.
Colin Hanna, principal at Balderton, added: “As the COVID-19 crisis hit supply chains worldwide, VanMoof’s unique control over design and production was a key advantage that allowed the company to react nimbly and effectively. Moreover, VanMoof’s direct to consumer approach allows the company to build a close relationship to their riders, one that will be strengthened by new products and services in the years to come.”
Read the September issue of BikeBiz below:
