Scoop: Shapermint parent Trafilea in talks to raise more than $50M

E-commerce group Trafilea, parent of shapewear marketplace Shapermint, is in talks with private equity and venture capital firms to raise its first significant capital of around $50 million to $100 million in equity, its co-founder and CMO Massimiliano Tirocchi tells Axios.

Why it matters: The funding plans come as competition for the intimates and shapewear marketplaces is fierce, including the original Spanx and newer entrants such as reality star Kim Kardashian's Skims.

• Plus, there's Victoria's Secret, which is undergoing a revival, and ThirdLove, all competing in the space.

Of note: Valuations of intimates or shapewear companies are currently between 5x and 10x revenue, Tirocchi said.

• That, in turn, could value Shapermint at between $900 million and $1.8 billion.

Between the lines: Trafilea plans to acquire functional clothing brands it can quickly scale, Tirocchi said.

• For example, Trafilea launched Truekind, a competitor of ThirdLove, and took it from zero in sales last year to $20 million.

By the numbers: Trafilea's Shapermint generated $150 million in revenue in 2020, Tirocchi said, and at the time it outpaced Skims, which hauled in $145 million that same year, Forbes reported.

• In 2021 that figure grew north of 20% to at least $180 million, though the co-founder declined to comment further.

What's next: Buyers will soon be able to shop the company's products in department stores.

• Tirocchi added that the beauty of Trafilea and Shapermint's platform is it can easily be adapted to scale new brands, whether they are built from scratch or acquired.