Fashion
Denmark’s Bestseller leads $20 mn funding for robotics innovator
While yarn production has long been fully automated, the time may now have come for RMG (ready-made garment) production.
Softwear Automation, creator of autonomous ‘Sewbots’, secured $20 million in Series B1 funding led by Danish fashion group Bestseller via its Invest FWD platform.
The investment will accelerate T-shirt sewing tech completion, scale production, and enhance R&D, supporting on-demand, localised garment manufacturing and addressing industry needs for speed, flexibility, and lower environmental impact.
A pioneer in this field is Softwear Automation, a technology innovator which has developed a fully autonomous sewing solution: they are making robots that can sew clothes – called ‘Sewbots’.
Softwear Automation has just announced the successful close of its $20 million Series B1 funding round. The round was led by a strategic investment from BESTSELLER, the Danish fashion company behind brands such as JACK & JONES, VERO MODA, and ONLY. The investment was made through Invest FWD, BESTSELLER’s dedicated innovation and investment platform. Current investors also participated in the financing.
From BESTSELLER, CFO Thomas Børglum Jensen states: At BESTSELLER, we look for innovations that can support progress and changes in the fashion industry. We believe that Softwear Automation can help address some of the key challenges we face across the industry – from speed and flexibility to reducing the environmental impact of garment production. We are pleased to support their development and look forward to exploring how their advanced technology can help us move forward.
Thomas Børglum Jensen CFO, BESTSELLER: As part of the collaboration between Softwear Automation and BESTSELLER, CFO Thomas Børglum Jensen, on behalf of BESTSELLER, joins the board of Softwear Automation.
“This partnership with BESTSELLER and the support from Invest FWD are not just a vote of confidence in our technology — they are a powerful catalyst for the future of on-demand and localised apparel manufacturing,” said Palaniswamy “Raj” Rajan, Chairman and CEO of Softwear Automation.
The funding round aims to accelerate the completion of the robotics technology dedicated to t-shirt production, initiate the scaling of production capacity, and strengthen R&D.
The investment from BESTSELLER’s innovation and investment platform, Invest FWD, follows a series of other investments made by BESTSELLER in recent years. In total, BESTSELLER has invested more than DKK 200 million in innovative companies that aim to create the materials of the future and contribute to breakthroughs that can assist in the transformation of the fashion industry.
A significant criterion for the investments is that they not only meet BESTSELLER’s needs but also help push the entire fashion industry forward.
“When it comes to transforming the fashion industry, it is necessary with a diversified focus. The fashion industry is still linear, so it is crucial for us to also invest in innovative recycling technologies that can transform the clothes we wear today into new garments for the next generation. We have been doing this for several years, and we will intensify these efforts going forward,” says Dorte Rye Olsen, Head of Sustainability at BESTSELLER.
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)
By
Reuters
Published
August 29, 2025
Gap on Thursday reported comparable sales below Wall Street estimates as customers pulled back on discretionary spending, and it said U.S. tariffs would squeeze its margins in the current quarter.
Shares of the company were down about 2% in extended trading.
Inflationary prices and uncertainty arising from the Trump administration’s trade policy have curbed consumer spending, challenging CEO Richard Dickson’s turnaround efforts to revitalize its brands.
For the quarter ended August 2, Gap’s comparable sales rose 1%, missing estimates of 2.26% growth, while net sales rose slightly to $3.73 billion, almost in line with analysts’ estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG.
In the quarter, net sales in its cheaper Old Navy and namesake Gap brands ticked up 1% each. But sales fell in its pricier brands Banana Republic and Athleta. Sales in the athleisure brand continued their decline, falling 11%.
“Dickson has delivered on his promise to reinvigorate the Gap brand, though it remains to be seen if or how he can do the same for Athleta, where sales continue to decline,” said Sky Canaves, analyst at EMarketer.
Gap, like rivals including American Eagle, opens new tab and Levi Strauss, has pushed its denim line with a new viral “Better in Denim” campaign featuring the global girl group KATSEYE to bump up sales.
The campaign comes weeks after American Eagle’s “Great Jeans” denim campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney.
The company now expects annual operating margin to be between 6.7% and 7%, compared with 7.4% in 2024.
The forecast includes a tariff impact in the range of 100 to 110 basis points, which translates to a hit of $150 million to $175 million.
Canaves said the company’s profit margins could deteriorate as the year progresses.
“Tariff impacts, combined with a heavily promotional environment during the holidays, squeeze margins further.”
In May, Gap announced $250 million to $300 million in tariff-related costs and aimed to mitigate more than half of that amount while working to reduce exposure to countries struck with high tariffs on imports to the United States.
© Thomson Reuters 2025 All rights reserved.
Published
August 28, 2025
Urban Outfitters, Inc. on Wednesday posted record-breaking earnings and sales in the second quarter, thanks to solid sales growth across all brands including its struggling Urban Outfitters chain.
The Philadelphia-based company said sales for the three months ended July 31 surged 11.3% to a record $1.50 billion, with total retail segment sales up 7.8%, and comparable retail segment sales lifting 5.6%.
By brand, comparable sales increased 6.7% at Free People, 5.7% at Anthropologie and 4.2% at Urban Outfitters.
Elsewhere, subscription segment sales skyrocketed by 53.2%, primarily driven by a 48.1% increase in average active subscribers in the current quarter. Wholesale segment sales jumped 18.1%, driven by a 19.5% increase in Free People wholesale sales, thanks to an increase in sales to specialty customers.
As a result of the sales growth, the U.S. company posted a record net income of $143.9 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.58 for the three months ended July 31.
“We are proud to announce record revenues, profits, and earnings per share for the quarter,” said Richard Hayne, chief executive officer, Urban Outfitters, Inc.
“Our success was broad-based, with all five brands achieving positive comparable sales across all geographies. We saw exceptional performance across all of our segments – retail, subscription, and wholesale – and believe these results reflect the strength of our brands, the effectiveness of our strategy, and the talent of our teams. We are confident in our continued momentum.”
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Published
August 28, 2025
Ssense is reportedly filing for bankruptcy protection following a move by creditors to initiate the sale of the Canadian luxury retailer, as per a letter sent to employees on Thursday.
In an email sent to staff, the Montreal-based company said the protection move follows the filing of an application to sell the company by its main creditor, without consent from the retailer, under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), according to a B0F report.
Chief executive Rami Atallah explained that Ssense will in response file its own CCAA application within 24 hours “to protect the company, keep control of our assets and operations, and fight for the future of the company,” according to the memo.
“Recently, we have worked closely with financial and legal advisors to develop our own restructuring plan to stabilize the business and rebuild it for the future,” said Atallah, as cited by BoF.
“The court will decide which path we follow, likely within the next week. Until then, our focus remains clear: protect value, stabilize the business, and set up a restructuring plan to secure our future.”
It is unknown which creditor pulled the sale trigger.
The retailer’s CEO went on to explain the headwinds facing his company following the Trump administration’s recent trade policies, which have imposed 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Canada.
Ssense also cited the closure of the “de minimus” exemption, which allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty free as a hit operationally for the company.
The bankruptcy protection news follows layoffs at Ssense earlier this year, including 100 positions in May, as the firm tries to lower overheads amid the luxury slowdown affecting demand for high-price goods, especially more younger, aspirational luxury shoppers — Ssense’s target market.
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
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