The past few months have been very good to e-commerce companies concentrated on specific verticals. In September, eyeglasses startup Warby Parker said it raised $ 36.8 million; last month, Zulily, the deals site for moms, babies and kids, announced that it had raised $ 85 million; and, on Tuesday, home decor site One Kings Lane said it raised $ 50 million in Series D financing, bringing its total amount raised to $ 117 million.
The round was led by Institutional Venture Partners, with participation from other previous investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Greylock Partners and Tiger Global Management and new investor Scripps Network Intractive, which operates HGTV and the DIY channel.
“When it comes to media companies, they are really the leaders in lifestyle content and have a huge following in home decor enthusiasts,” said One Kings Lane CEO Doug Mack. “We thought it would be great to have a backer with that kind of expertise.”
As consumers increasingly use smartphones and tablets for their shopping, Mack said, a major focus going forward will be mobile and tech investments. He also said that on the heels of the company’s first national TV ad campaign, they plan to invest more in marketing and branding, as well as in merchandizing and services.
Looking at the broader e-commerce landscape, he said, vertically-focused companies like San Francisco-based One Kings Lane are emerging as the companies with the strongest profitability profile and potential for longevity. But he said a challenge will be to keep up with consumers’ migration to mobile.
“I feel that the world is moving to mobile first faster than any company ever imagined,” he said. “Our rate of investment in mobile will only have to be accelerated.”
The company said it expects to reach $ 200 million in annualized revenues in 2012, with 25 percent of monthly revenues coming from mobile purchases. It says it launches up to 3,000 new home products each day and counts more than six million consumers among its members.
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