Streetwear Brand Starter Raises $40 Million in New Funding from Chinese Investors

The brand, which was originally founded in the US but has found recent success in the China market, has recently raised $40 million in series C financing, led by Chinese investor QY Capital, with other investors including existing shareholders Sequoia China, Dazzle Fashion (a local high-street fashion giant in China) and M31 Capital.

The American brand was founded in 1971, and once owned by Nike. It’s now owned by brand management company, Iconix Brand Group. In 2017, a Chinese private equity firm, Black Ant Group, reached an agreement with the Chinese subsidiary of Iconix Brand Group to obtain an exclusive licence to operate the Starter brand in the Greater China region.

In July 2020, Iconix Brand Group sold Starter’s Chinese business to an anonymous buyer. According to the business information platform Tianyancha and other local media reports, Black Ant Group is widely rumoured to be that buyer and has taken over Starter’s China business.

Since entering the China market, Starter has previously secured two rounds of financing worth 100 million yuan ($15.82 million) in 2019 and $30 million in 2020.

By the end of last year, Starter had opened nearly 100 stores in China, covering many first- and second-tier cities and achieved an annual growth rate of over 150 percent.

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