Away is Valued at $1.4 Billion After a Series D Investment of $100 Million

NEW YORK, May 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Away, the direct-to-consumer travel brand that launched 3 years ago, today announced the close of a $100 million Series D investment round. The new investment was led by Wellington Management Company LLP and includes Baillie Gifford, Lone Pine Capital, and one of the brand's earliest investors Global Founders Capital, and brings its total equity funding to $156 million.

Since launching in February 2016, Away has become one of the fastest growing consumer brands. The company reached $12 million in sales in its first 12 months, grew to $150 million in sales in 2018, and is projected to double its sales in 2019. 

Co-founders Jen Rubio and Steph Korey have focused on a larger vision for transforming the travel industry, building on the runaway success of Away's first product, The Carry-On, and introducing a range of other products and experiences to make travel more seamless.

With this latest round of funding, Away plans to continue to expand the ways it can improve travel by:

• Expanding its product line, offering more options within its existing categories and developing travel products in new categories including apparel, wellness, and lifestyle accessories;
• Growing its physical retail footprint, continuing to create retail experiences in the US and abroad, opening 50 new stores over the next three years in addition to its current locations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, Boston, and London; and,
• Fueling its international expansion, further establishing itself worldwide beyond the 39 countries where Away products are currently available, with plans to grow the international business 10X over the next three years.

"Every journey begins with a suitcase, including ours. We launched with that one product in 2016 and quickly set our sights on building a brand that stands for the transformative power of travel. This new capital will further fuel our plans to fully build a global community of passionate travelers, and equip them with every product they need to travel more seamlessly," said Jen Rubio, co-founder and Chief Brand Officer.

"We've been focused on building not just a beloved and quickly-growing brand, but also on building a strong financial foundation. With highly profitable unit economics in place both online and offline, the business is primed for strategic expansion across new products, stores, and geographies," said Steph Korey, co-founder and CEO.

Cassi Gritzmacher
Senior Director, Communications & Social Impact
Away
[email protected] 

About Away
Away is a modern lifestyle brand creating thoughtful products designed to transform travel. Launched in 2016 by Steph Korey and Jen Rubio, Away designs and sells premium travel goods at an unprecedented price through a direct-to-consumer model. In just over three years, Away has already been twice named one of Fast Company's "World's Most Innovative Companies," one of TIME's "50 Most Genius Companies," and a Forbes "Next Billion Dollar Startup." To learn more, visit awaytravel.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains or references forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to our financial guidance and key drivers thereof. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "anticipates," "believes," "could," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "will," or similar expressions and the negatives of those words.

Forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expect.  Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, achievements, or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will occur.

Forward-looking statements represent our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We disclaim any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Away