On April 21, Sequoia China announced that it had completed its Round A lead for Paris-based fashion and accessories brand DESTIN.
In addition to Zhang Yu, a partner of Sequoia China and former editor-in-chief of VOGUE China, European and American singers Beyondcé, Rihanna, actor Jessica Alba and supermodel Gisele Bündchen and other ultra-luxurious lineups followed suit, which can be said to be huge and star-studded.
This is also another move of Sequoia China in the field of fashion after AMI, SSENSE and WE11DONE. This round of financing also allows DESTREE, a slightly niche French fashion brand, to officially enter the public eye.
DESTREE was founded in Paris in 2016 by two female designers, Géraldine Guyot and Laetitia Lumbroso.
One of the founders, Geraldine Guyot, studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, one of the world's four major fashion design schools, and was the younger sister of famous designers such as John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Phoebe Philo.
In 2016, she came up with the idea of creating an accessories brand, so she returned to Paris, France, to start DESTREE with her friend Laetitia Lumbroso.
Laetitia Lumbroso previously worked at Givenchy and Dior and has over 10 years of experience in the fashion industry. At that time in France, leather goods and fashion jewelry were no longer new categories, so the two girls decided to start with hat accessories, and then launched bag lines and jewelry lines to position high-end fashion accessories.
Designed in a French minimalist style, destree is rooted in Geraldine Guyot's deep artistic heritage, and each destree piece is named after an artist, a painter, sculptor, performer, photographer or designer.
Similar to the route of many niche brands in recent years, DESTREE has also become popular with "explosive" bags. Alvar and Ettore are two iconic handbags with simple lines and dotted metal accents that are recognizable. The wearable street photographs of celebrities such as Helena Bordon and Kelly Rutherford have brought visibility to both handbags.
Today, the ring-shaped decoration has become the brand identity of DESTREE. New handbags such as Albert and Gunther are decorated with woven rings, and this element is also common in newly expanded jewelry accessories and ready-to-wear categories.
Soon, DESTREE made a ripple in the fashion circle. Less than five years after its founding, it has appeared in major fashion magazines, including VOGUE Paris. Even diva Beyoncé owns a bag designed by Geraldine Guyot.
DESTREE is currently available in 100 stores on five continents. Offline cooperation with Japan's Bankyu Department Store, Mitsukoshi Isetan, France's Galeries Lafayette, Salblais Andrida and the United States Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and other well-known retailers have cooperated, online with the official website e-commerce and third-party platform as sales channels.
DESTREE has yet to open an official point of sale in China, but on April 20 it did open a Xiaohongshu account, its first official social media account in China, which could mean that the brand is preparing for the Chinese market.
DESTREE, a brand that has only been established for eight years, has been favored by Sequoia China, and the founder Geraldine Guyot has taken a lot of credit.
Born into a family of art lovers after the 90s, Geraldine Guyot has developed a strong interest in art since she was a child, and in her spare time she looks through art catalogs and travels to museums and galleries around the world, and art occupies a very important place in her life.
Geraldine Guyot presents her understanding and love of art in the design of the brand's pieces, and due to her unique and good aesthetic, DESTREE has developed rapidly in recent years.
In addition to being a good brand founder, Geraldine Guyot now has another identity – the daughter-in-law of LVMH Group President Bernard Arnault.
Geraldine Guyot officially married Alexandre Arnault, the second son of the LVMH group for two years, last year, which became a great joy in the fashion industry.
As the world's largest luxury goods group, LVMH's strength naturally goes without saying. Bernard Arnault has just passed a proposal at the shareholders' meeting to extend his term to the age of 80 and will continue to serve as CEO of lvmh group in the coming years.
His eldest daughter, Delphine Arnault, is now Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton, overseeing all of the brand's product-related businesses, while his eldest son, Antoine Arnault, serves as CEO of Berluti, a subsidiary of the LVMH Group, and Chairman of Loro Piana.
In 2016, LVMH Acquired an 80% stake in luggage brand Rimowa, while Alexanderre Arnault, just 24, was officially appointed co-CEO.
During his years as CEO, Alexandre Arnault set out to push Rimowa towards rejuvenation, allowing the fading brand to reverse word-of-mouth and sales. Alexander Arnault then introduced Rimowa's retail to North America and even Asia, while also actively promoting the digital transformation of the brand.
Alexandre is young, but his business vision is not lost to the talent of the long-established mall. Earlier last year, LVMH Group acquired jewelry brand Tiffany & Co, and Alexandre Arnault was appointed Executive Vice President of Tiffany, showing that its capabilities have been recognized.
Geraldine Guyot was also selected by Forbes Under 30 in 2019 by Forbes Magazine, in addition to being professional and also very business-minded, the new combination of the fashion industry is a strong combination, which has attracted much attention.
While LVMH does not yet have any substantial ties to DESTREE, its association with the world's most influential luxury goods conglomerates is bound to provide greater impetus for its future development. Sequoia China's inclusion of DESREE will further help the global fund expand its growing fashion footprint.
Following the completion of this round of funding, Zhang Yu, an investment partner at Sequoia China, said: "We initially noticed DESTREE because their designs have a sense of artistry and recognizability, and it is very important to establish their DNA very early in this highly competitive field. We are delighted to accompany our brands in their future growth and help them achieve their ambitions with our resources in global and local markets." ”
With this round of funding, DESTREE will increase its efforts in talent acquisition and digital native marketing, support existing retail operations in Paris and New York, and expand into new markets such as Japan and China.
As an investor, Sequoia China frequently lays out in the fashion field. Sequoia China has invested in apparel brands many times before, but from recent cases, the signal of investment targets turning to high-end is very obvious.
Looking back at several recent investments, we can vaguely see a new path for China's new consumer investment - going out and bringing in. As Sequoia China emphasizes: helping brands achieve digital transformation and penetrate deeply into the local market.
In the face of rapidly changing global consumption trends, Sequoia China actively supports local fashion and lifestyle innovation brands, and assists more influential international brands to open up new markets, especially in China, which is full of consumption potential. In today's new consumer investment, which is full of involution, this is undoubtedly a new way of thinking.
For the brand side DESTREE, with unique styles and positioning of light luxury prices, the time for niche fashion brands to usher in the sales explosion period is shortening.
But today's market is more competitive than ever, and if subsequent creative and marketing tools can't keep up, they will quickly fall behind. Light luxury brands such as Coach and Michael Kors still have market influence, and their brand effect is exactly what many niche brands need today but are missing.
The acquisition of Sequoia China's investment means that DESTREE will accelerate its expansion in areas such as products, marketing and sales channels. According to Women's Daily, Geraldine Guyot plans to open China's first official point of sale in 2023, and entering the Chinese market seems to be a foregone conclusion. Whether Sequoia can really help DESTREE achieve the next step of development with its influence in the local market is worth waiting and seeing.