Online club NZsale gets $14.5m shot

NZsale hopes to become the online market leader in New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images

An online shopping company selling fashion labels such as Tigerlily and One Teaspoon received a $14.5 million cash injection last week that will be used to expand the company's infrastructure.

NZsale, a private online shopping club that is part of the Australian company Ozsale, is part of a chain of sites that operate in Australia and Singapore.

Ozsale is believed to be the number one online apparel and accessories retailer in Australia, and NZsale hopes to be the market leader in New Zealand within a few months.

The investment, from Insight Venture Partners, will be used for warehouse expansion, improving infrastructure, growing membership and recruiting staff.

Insight Venture Partners vice-president Ryan Hinkle said the investment company was a strong supporter of the private, online shopping model and was confident the Ozsale Group would become a leader in the Australasian and Asian markets.

Ozsale Group chief executive Jamie Jackson, who founded the company in 2007, said the funding would assist the company's "aggressive growth plans".

The company is hoping to expand into Southeast Asian markets, including Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

"This will triple the size of our business within 12 months and puts us in a unique position to work strategically with suppliers to identify the most profitable markets to shift surplus product," he said.

"Nzsale helps designers market their lines to new customers and sell surplus inventory while preserving the value of the brand. About 60 per cent of stock is typically sold out in the two days."

Jackson said only members could access sales, but membership was free and anyone could join.

More than 700,000 people across New Zealand, Australia and Singapore have signed up.

Jackson said about 2000 customers were joining each day.

Since launching, the Ozsale Group has hosted more than 11,000 sale events for more than 600 local and international brands, including Working Style, Sabatini, Liz Mitchell, Alex Perry, Tigerlily, One Teaspoon, Metalicus, All About Eve, Speedo, Nautica, Timberland and New Balance.