Unmade, a London-based scaleup, has been acquired by Bangkok, Thailand-based apparel manufacturer Hi-Tech Apparel.
UnmadeOS, Unmade’s platform, uses patented automation and visualization technologies to enable brands to offer bespoke clothing on demand. Existing customers include sportswear brands such as New Balance and Decathlon as well as fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren.
Hi-Tech Apparel is over 30 years old, employs 14,000 people in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos and is expanding its production capacity in Egypt. Hi-Tech Apparel has an annual turnover of over $300 million and shares Unmade’s vision of automating the manufacturing process. Unmade was founded in 2014 by Hal Watts, Kirsty Emery-Laws and Ben Alun-Jones and has raised a total of £15 million (€17.8m) from Octopus Ventures, Felix Capital, MMC Ventures, Local Globe, Connect Ventures, Backed VC, Carmen Busquets and C4 Ventures.
Sporting goods retailer and sports brand Decathlon will remain a shareholder after the acquisition, with Unmade retaining the autonomy to work with any brand or manufacturer. The deal, which values the company at 10 times sales, offers Hi-Tech Apparel, the Thailand-based conglomerate and supplier to some of the world’s biggest sports brands, a huge opportunity to build a digital, globally distributed manufacturing model to meet customer demand.
“Decathlon first invested in Unmade in 2021 and believes enormously in the need for an independent, open platform that can serve our industry as it goes through unprecedented change in terms of customer expectations and speed to market needs,” commented Pierre Vernet, Investment Director of Decathlon. “We look forward to building on the solid foundations and remaining as a key partner as we look to a bright future.”
Unmade’s UK-based team, led by CEO Watts and COO Simon Rea, will remain with the company to further develop the industry-leading digital solution for personalized and tailored apparel, supported by a significant cash injection to drive growth with several new hires.
