Stio Closes $5.9M Funding Round to Support Growth Trajectory
PITCHENGINE.COM – Stio, the Jackson, Wyoming-based mountain apparel brand, is pleased to announce the closing of a $5.9 million round of funding to support its growth trajectory and future plans for expansion. Sandbridge Capital, LLC led the funding round, while original Stio® investor KarpReilly Investments, LLC supported the round by converting an existing debt facility to equity.
“The Stio business has hit a great stride and achieved aggressive growth targets for six quarters running, while our YOY business will more than double in 2014,” said Stephen Sullivan founder and CEO. “The brand is resonating strongly and our direct-to-consumer model is performing even better than we anticipated. Although we’ve been fortunate to have a supportive group of investors since Stio’s inception, our trajectory and near-term plans to expand our Stio Mountain Studio™ locations demanded a new level of capitalization. I am pleased to welcome Sandbridge Capital, LLC, as a new partner in our efforts.”
Sullivan launched the Stio brand in the fall of 2012. Stio apparel blends mountain town style with backcountry performance, resulting in product that moves seamlessly between outdoor and urban environments. Stio sells exclusively via catalog, website and its Stio Mountain Studio™ in Jackson, Wyoming.
David Fife, Managing Partner of Sandbridge Capital, LLC commented, “Steve and his team have built Stio into a world-class brand in short order, and with a limited capital base. We are excited to come in at this stage to both accelerate and support Stio’s growth.” Fife continued, “it is increasingly rare to find a young company with such outstanding product, experienced leadership, strong operational foundation, and such a focused business model – we are excited to work with the Stio team and add value where we can.”
With the success of the Stio Mountain Studio™ retail store in Jackson, the brand recently engaged real estate broker Jones, Lang and LaSalle (JLL) in a national search for new retail locations. Stio is also ramping its catalog and other promotional efforts and has recently added Jackson, Wyoming-based creative agency TMBR, as well as digital advertising specialists FastG8 to its team.
ABOUT STIO
Headquartered in the heart of the Tetons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Stio was founded to inspire connection with the outdoors through beautiful, functional, and innovative products infused with the soul of mountain lifestyle. Stio’s “mountain town style meets backcountry performance” product is sold via the Stio Mountain Studio™, Stio catalogs and the Stio website. www.pitchengine.com
