Brightpearl, a Bristol (U.K.) and Austin, Texas-based retail operating system owned by U.K. enterprise software giant Sage, has released its lists of the fastest-growing online retailers in the U.K. and the fastest-growing D2C brands in the U.S (”‘Lightning 50”).
While a beer brewing brand (Pinter) tops the U.K. list with a growth rate of 626 percent over the past 12 months, the next three spots are held by three sports-related companies: Progress JJ (jiu-jitsu apparel) at 446 percent, Passenger Clothing (fashionable clothing for travel enthusiasts) at 362 percent, and Kick Game (sneakers and streetwear) at 353 percent. Tenth place was taken by Gym Plus Coffee (high-end hoodies for gyms), with 169 percent growth in the past 12 months. Fashion and apparel brands accounted for 20 percent of the total list, showing that U.K. shoppers are increasingly buying clothing online.
Hunt Bike Wheels, a Colorado-based specialist bicycle wheel manufacturer, is the fastest-growing e-commerce brand in the U.S., according to the new ranking, with a staggering 13-fold (1,357%) growth in sales over the past 12 months. Brightpearl states that the brand’s patented wheel technology has inspired a wave of cycling enthusiasts to flock to the brand’s online store. In fifth place, with 64 percent growth over the past 12 months, is another sports-related brand, Hoven (trendy collections in casual wear, sunglasses and sportswear). A quarter of the fastest-growing online brands in the U.S. are fashion and apparel companies – a sign that customers are increasingly shopping for clothing online here, too. Nearly half of the ten fastest-growing brands in the U.S. in 2022 are run by women.
Brightpearl also offers a podcast series accompanying its “Lightning 50,” which discusses in more detail the “secrets behind the growth of some of the world’s fastest-growing online brands.”
