Lightbank Leads $5M Round In Personalized Retail Site For Men, Frank & Oak

Leena Rao

Leena Rao is currently a Senior Editor for TechCrunch. She recently finished graduate school at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where she studied business journalism and videography. From 2004 to 2007, she helped lead Congresswoman Carloyn Maloney’s community outreach and relations efforts in New York City. She graduated from Columbia University in 2003, where she was... → Learn More

Thursday, October 11th, 2012
Welcome | Frank & Oak

Frank & Oak a personalized online clothing retailer for men, has raised $5 million in funding from Lightbank with participation from BDMI, Rho Ventures Canada and Real Ventures.

Frank & Oak, which was founded in February, aims to provide a personalized shopping experience for men. Guys can visit the site and enter their clothing preferences. Once a month you get an email newsletter with a list of items for sale, curated to your interests. You select up to five items, which are then shipped to you free of charge. The ones you don’t like, or that don’t fit, you send back, and you pay for the ones you keep.

The company says it has experienced double-digit, month-over-month growth since its launch.

What makes Frank & Oak different from Trunk Club, which as a similar model, is that the startup designs the clothing, and it has direct relationships with the manufacturers. Because of this, Frank & Oak can offer its inventory at a relatively low-price price point. Shirts cost about $40 and accessories cost about $25.

Frank & Oak will use the funding to further develop personalized products, hire more staff and expand the range of clothing and lifestyle products offered.