German eyewear retailer Brillen.de raises €45mn

Multichannel retailer Brillen.de raised 45 million euros from Technology Crossover Ventures. It is said to be one of the largest VC financings in Germany this year. With the fresh funding, Brillen.de wants to fuel the company’s international expansion beyond the current markets of Germany, Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom.

SuperVista AG, the parent company of Brillen.de, announced the news and said the investment is the first institution backing for the family-owned company. According to CEO Matthias Kamppeter, from the moment they met with TCV they knew they were the right investors to help them expand Brillen.de globally. “It’s clear an investment from TCV goes far beyond an influx of capital. They are committed to helping us strengthen our financial structure, improve our sales and marketing processes and build out our technology team.”

Technology Crossover Ventures said they decided to invest in Brillen.de, because they invest in technology-driven businesses with sustainable business models that are focused on disrupting large industry. “And Brillen.de very much fits that mold”, says John Doran, Principal at TCV, who will join the Brillen.de board, together with venture partner Simon Breakwell.

About Brillen.de

Brillen.de was founded in 2012 by Matthias and Christine Kamppeter and Daniel Thung. Before founding the multichannel seller of prescription eyewear, the couple managed about 20 optician stores in Germany. The ecommerce player offers advisory and sales services from over 700 opticians across Germany, Austria, England and Spain. In the latter country it runs Gafas.es, while in the UK it operates the website Specsfactory.co.uk. The company is headquartered in Wildau, near Berlin, and currently has about 100 employees.