Melijoe has emerged as the go-to site for fashion-forward parents who want to make sure their kids are also dressed to impress. Started in 2007 by Nathalie Christen-Genty, Melijoe has grown steadily into a team of 40 people and, up until this month, raised had raised €5 million, mostly from it’s principal investor CM-CIC Capital Privé. Now they’ve just announced this week that they’re raised another €9 million from Belgium-based Gimv, with its historic investor CM-CIC Capital Privé again joining the round.
Although there are numerous e-tailers focusing on kids, Melijoe seeks to mimic the experience that adult fashionistas enjoy via fashion media (Vogue, WWD, Grazia, Elle, etc) and high-end e-tailers like Net-a-porter. As such, they seek to have the top kids luxury brands in their portfolio, such as Tartine et Chocolat, Cacharel (for kids), and Burberry (for kids), and incorporate relevant editorial content and exclusive shopping info, childrenswear news, and trend reports via their digital new outlet Le Magazine. While bringing direct-to-runway fashion is an important differentiator for them vs other kids fashion sites, given their focus on kids, they still seek to bring an element of practicality to the styles and brands they offer and recommend.
Their strategy has paid off handsomely, with 100k orders placed since their founding and €14 million in revenues in 2013. Melijoe is already available in 6 languages and now generates 50% of its sales outside of France. Their objective is even more audacious as with this latest investment, they plan to raise the international proportion of their sales to 75% and, ultimately, become the leading global kids luxury e-tailer.