Showroom B2B Raises $1.35M to Grow Apparel Supply Chain Platform

Supply chain platform Showroom B2B has reportedly raised $1.35 million in a seed round.

Showroom B2B, which is focused on the fashion and apparel industry, combines both physical and digital features, The Economic Times reported Wednesday (Jan. 11).

These features include physical “experience stores” in which retailers can touch and feel the apparel and thereby gain the confidence to order it from the manufacturers, according to the report.

Then, with the company’s digital app, retailers can place orders and access beneficial pricing, the report said.

The capital raised by Showroom B2B will be used to open new experience stores, build the technology infrastructure and customer experience, and expand the network of retailers and manufacturers, according to the report.

Showroom B2B did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

Strive VC led the funding round and said Showroom B2B has seen rapid adoption across India, according to the report.

“Showroom B2B is organizing the massively long-tailed apparel supply chain in India with a simple promise — to provide a broad selection of apparel to retailers at competitive prices compared to unorganized channels,” Strive VC Principal Siddharth Verma said in the report.

Showroom B2B had earlier raised $180,000 in an angel round in 2021, according to the report.

During the pandemic, the fashion industry went through an overnight transition of needing digital tools and virtual showrooms and learning how to get online orders unassisted, JOOR Chief Customer Officer Jennifer Rosado told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in an interview posted in August.

“Hybrid is the new normal for everyone: both brands and retailers,” Rosado said, adding that many of the ad hoc coping mechanisms that were adopted in response to COVID restrictions have become permanent fixtures in the wholesale and retail fashion industry.

In another 2022 innovation, Amazon Fashion and Snapchat agreed to connect products with people via a new digital fitting agreement aimed at moving merchandise and reducing returns.

Starting with eyewear, the new pairing of Snap’s AR Lens filter with Amazon’s massive inventory of products is said to be a major milestone in the evolution of social commerce through the digital enhancement of the shopping experience.

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