Handbag customiser Mon Purse receives $3 mln, plans US entry

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Jun 24, 2016

Custom handbag brand Mon Purse has secured $3.1 million in a series A capital raise. Fellow Australian discount e-tailer Catch of the Day Group lead the investment round with site founders, Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, the latest investors to inject funding into the startup.

Mon Purse, a mass-customiser of Italian leather handbags, was founded by Lana Hopkins. The entrepreneur told the Australian Financial Review that she accepted the brothers' $2 million offer - the largest in the round - due to their knowledge of e-commerce.

"Their experience in scaling up and driving eyeballs in e-commerce will be valuable to have around the business," Hopkins told newspaper, speaking of the Leibovich's.

The Leibovich brothers join property developer Robert Magid, Airtasker co-founder Jonathan Lui, Alasdair Macleod's Macdoch Ventures and Rolf Krecklenberg, as Mon Purse backers, reported the paper.

Meanwhile Justus Hammer, who founded and sold Spreets for $40 million, elevates his role from advisor and investor to join the Mon Purse board, alongside Krecklenberg and the two founders, it said.

The bag newcomer previously completed an angel round in July last year and a small seed round in 2014 to launch the business.

Mon Purse has also announced expansion into the US later this year, tapping Harper's Bazaar US executive editor Laura Brown for a design collaboration.

Brown will design a capsule range of bags that will be made available to purchase via Mon Purse's online store.