Almost a year after announcing one seed funding milestone, luxury retail platform Cult Mia has announced another. The UK-based business said its seed funding drive has now raised $5 million.

The fast-growing global destination for independent luxury fashion, has been defying all industry growth trends. It initially closed its seed funding in November 2023 in which $3million of capital was raised. Now it has raised an extra $2 million in a round including existing investors (Fuel Ventures with participation from Morgan Stanley and David Wertheimer of the family that owns Chanel). Importantly too, the new round also has H&M Group Ventures on board.

Founded by Nina Briance in 2019, Cult Mia calls itself “the luxury shopping destination of the future” and has seen consistent triple-digit growth since launch. 

It said the summer 2024 period was “very successful” with its Q3 sales exceeding 200% growth vs 2023 while “operating at 3x efficiency vs marketplace peers”. 

The US has been the key market with a 109% jump year on year. The Middle East may not be as big a market for it so far but it has seen 413% growth. The UK, Cult Mia’s home market, remains a key contributor, and has shown “robust” growth of 115%.
 
Nina Briance said both the growth and the new funding “reaffirm our belief in our platform’s potential to become the independent luxury fashion destination for the world. This investment will allow us to accelerate our plans to scale globally, particularly in high-growth markets like the US and Middle East, and further our commitment to delivering a uniquely curated, values-driven shopping experience”.

In launching the business, Briance combined her learnings from roles at Goldman Sachs, UBS, the United Nations and Moda Operandi to “build an e-commerce platform centring independent businesses and social impact”. 

Brands are all vetted against four values (Cult Eco, Cult Power, Cult Conscious, Cult Local), with 65% of the current curation categorised as Cult Eco.

The business’s mission is to bring “limited edition, unique, global fashion to the fingertips of the modern consumer, who shops safe in the knowledge that all of the products and brands align with the values they care about”. The platform has a 40% exclusivity count with over 350 brands onboarded from 42 countries and a customer base spanning 45 countries.