Brooklyn, NY (PRWEB) February 19, 2014
Madison Plus Select, Inc. a leading online retailer of women's fashions in sizes 10+, announced today that it completed its first close on the Company’s seed round of funding. The Company has obtained financing from a combination of private investors including Joanne Wilson, prolific NYC-based angel investor; Tom Kalaris, the former Chief Executive of Wealth & Investment Banking at Barclays Bank PLC; and Amy Nauiokas, founder of Archer Gray Productions and angel investor.
The Company will use the proceeds of this financing to fund sales and marketing efforts to increase its customer base and further expand its inventory allowing it to bring more options to the market and enhance the technical capabilities of its online retail platform.
Founded by Aimee Cheshire in 2009, Madison Plus began as a personal blog delivering first-hand plus size fashion news, insights, trends and style advice. Cheshire leveraged her 10+ years of professional experience in plus size clothing product development to build one of the leading industry blogs. With global readership and an annual reader run-rate reaching nearly 750,000 by the end of 2012, Cheshire recognized the interest in, and desire for, fashion-forward plus size styles. Additionally, with direct communication with the plus size audience, Cheshire learned first-hand what was lacking in the industry – mainly options, style, fit and quality of the current plus size fashions.
In 2013, David Wechsler, a 17-year tech start-up veteran, joined the Company as Chief Executive Officer to help launch Madison Plus “Select,” the e-commerce arm of the Madison Plus blog. Wechsler recognized the untapped potential in the plus size market and joined the Company to help spearhead its funding, operations, and marketing efforts.
“More than 60 percent of the US currently falls in the plus size category, however, very few fashion-forward ecommerce sites carry over a size 12,” said Wechsler. “Given the $130 billion dollars of spending potential in the plus size market, it’s not surprising Madison Plus Select is experiencing monthly growth of 30 percent supported by its global customer base. The trusted brand and industry awareness Aimee created over the past four years has given the Company a significant advantage within this growing marketplace,” he added.
Madison Plus Select is a leading fashion-forward plus size online retailer offering a highly curated selection of quality clothing from niche designers, including some lines the Company carries exclusively. Every item sold by the Company is hand selected by plus size industry veteran and Founder Aimee Cheshire who also shares her fashion advice and style tips via the Company’s popular blog, Madison Plus. For more information, visit http://www.madisonplusselect.com.