ShoeDazzle is an American online fashion subscription service based in

El Segundo, California El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,731 as of th ...

. Each month the company debuts a selection of

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...

handbags A handbag, commonly known as a purse or pocketbook in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. Purse, handbag or pouch The term "purse" originally referred to a small bag for holding coins. In many ...

and

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

, and provides its members with a showroom curated to their indicated fashion preferences.

History

The company was founded by

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...

, Brian Lee, Robert Shapiro and M.J. Eng in 2009. In 2013, fashion expert

Rachel Zoe Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig (born September 1, 1971) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman and author who rose to prominence as a celebrity wardrobe stylist. She has been credited with the creation of "the boho-meets-rock chic look that came ...

joined ShoeDazzle as Chief Stylist. ShoeDazzle merged with JustFab, Inc. in 2013.

Funding and growth

In November 2009, ShoeDazzle secured its first round of $7 million funding from

Polaris Ventures Polaris Partners is a venture capital firm active in the field of healthcare and biotechnology companies. The company has offices in Boston, Massachusetts, New York, NY and San Francisco, California. History Polaris Partners was founded in 19 ...

, a

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

firm specializing in early-stage investments. In April 2010,

Lightspeed Venture Partners Lightspeed Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm focusing on multi-stage investments in the enterprise, consumer, and health sectors. Lightspeed invests in seed, early and growth-stage companies. The company invests in the U.S. and a ...

led a $13 million round of financing. In May 2011, ShoeDazzle secured $40 million in funding led by

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

venture capital firm

Andreessen Horowitz Andreessen Horowitz (also called a16z, legal name AH Capital Management, LLC) is a private American venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Andreessen ...

. In September 2011, Bill Strauss, the former CEO of Provide Commerce (which operates sites such as

ProFlowers ProFlowers is a flower retailer in the United States. It is an e-commerce company that sells products shipped from growers, suppliers and its own distribution facilities to consumers. ProFlowers is headquartered in San Diego, California. It is a wh ...

), became ShoeDazzle's CEO. Co-founder Lee became chairman. In March 2012, ShoeDazzle dropped its $39.95 monthly subscription model and expanded into apparel, handbags, weddings and lingerie. In July 2012, ShoeDazzle signed up a record one million new members. From 2011 to 2012, ShoeDazzle grew from 3 million to 10 million members. In August 2013, ShoeDazzle was acquired by rival online fashion subscription service

JustFab TechStyle Fashion Group, formerly JustFab Inc., is an online, membership fashion retailer that has a portfolio of five direct-to-consumer brands including JustFab, FabKids, ShoeDazzle, Savage X Fenty, and Fabletics. Its brands carries select ...

. The two companies continued to run independently as separate brands.

References

{{Kim Kardashian Companies based in Los Angeles Kim Kardashian Shoe brands American companies established in 2009 Clothing companies established in 2009 Retail companies established in 2009 Internet properties established in 2009 Shoe companies of the United States Subscription services