CHIMI Eyewear disrupts the market – launches optical glasses and welcomes eEquity as a new partner to support its growth and international expansion
CHIMI has grown into the go-to brand for trendy sunglasses in the Nordics. The company now enters into a partnership with eEquity, to accelerate growth and global expansion. Founded in 2016 by Daniel Djurdjevic and Charlie Lindström, CHIMI is an independent eyewear brand, aiming to explore the emerging intersection between luxury fashion and technical performance, at a high value-for-money. As a “new luxury” brand, CHIMI seeks to offer a luxurious customer experience through quality, visual identity, packaging and presentation. Building on its attractive offering, CHIMI has gained a strong market presence with sales across the globe, both through their own website, concept stores and select wholesale partners. Through innovative brand building and marketing campaigns, CHIMI’s products have been seen on ambassadors and partners such as Christer Fuglesang, Elsa Hosk, Kalles Kaviar, H&M and Dramaten. Their products have also been worn by the likes of Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Zara Larsson and Rita Ora.
Daniel Djurdjevic, CEO & Co-founder of CHIMI comments:
”We are very excited to enter into this partnership with eEquity. They have a strong track-record of building successful e-commerce companies with international presence. We believe that CHIMI’s strong product portfolio and brand positioning, together with eEquity’s competence in e-commerce and global expansion, will produce excellent results. We also look forward to tapping into the network of competence and experience among other eEquity portfolio companies. Our vision is that the brand will continue to appeal to the market and stay synonymous with fantastic products and a premium customer experience – across all sales channels.”
As of today, sunglasses represent barely 15% of the total eyewear industry, and the overall market is seeing rapid online growth. So far, CHIMI has merely scratched the surface of the market, and the focus going forward will be on expanding the assortment alongside further international expansion. An upcoming launch of optical glasses, in September, will be a key step for CHIMI, enabling them to grab further market share and offer their customers a complete eyewear assortment.
Alexandra Severin, Associate at eEquity comments:
”We are very impressed by Daniel and Charlie as entrepreneurs and how they have built a strong brand during such a short period of time, as well as developing a unique product concept. We are very proud to enter a partnership with the team with the ambition to disrupt the global eyewear market - where we forecast a significant increase in online penetration. Together, we will accelerate growth by scaling the company globally and by broadening CHIMIs assortment into new verticals.”
eEquity invests SEK 80 million and acquires a minority post representing 21% of the shares in Chimi. The new equity will primarily be used to accelerate international expansion, build and strengthen the organization, invest in IT, expand the product assortment, and accelerate marketing. The founders, Daniel and Charlie, will continue to be majority owners after the investment.
Patrik Hedelin
Managing Partner
patrik.hedelin@eequity.se
+46 (0)70 545 2889
About eEquity
eEquity is a leading private equity firm specialising in digitally enabled businesses, with significant focus on global e-commerce, encompassing all products and services in the surrounding ecosystem. Since 2010, eEquity has led investments of over SEK 3 billion in 31 companies across four funds. The companies eEquity enters partnerships with are normally entrepreneur-led growth businesses with potential to become global market leaders. The investors behind eEquity are European Investment Fund (EIF), leading European family offices and financial institutions. eEquity is led by Patrik Hedelin and Magnus Wiberg, both experienced internet entrepreneurs.
About CHIMI
Chimi, founded in 2016 by childhood friends Daniel Djurdjevic and Charlie Lindström, is a fast-growing D2C e-commerce company based in Stockholm, Sweden, with a turnover of approximately SEK 100m. CHIMI is an independent eyewear brand, aiming to explore the emerging intersection between luxury fashion and technical performance, at a high value-for-money. As a “new luxury” brand, CHIMI seeks to offer a luxurious customer experience through product quality, visual identity, packaging and presentation. Building on its attractive offering, CHIMI has gained a strong market foothold with sales across the globe, both through their own website, concept stores and select wholesale partners.
Visit www.chimieyewear.com for more information.
