Nordstrom Acquires Men’s Shopping Service Trunk Club

Personal styling service for men, Trunk Club, has been acquired by Nordstrom for an undisclosed amount. The five-year old Chicago-based startup offers a subscription-based service that’s like having your own personal stylist on demand who picks out top designer labels for you and ships them to your home for free.

After signing up, men are interviewed by a stylist about their own personal tastes, and provide their measurements. They then receive their first “trunk” – a box containing a selection of clothing and other items, and they only pay for what they don’t mail back within 10 days.

The startup appeals to the way men like to shop: that is, they don’t like it. But it’s something that makes sense to those who know there’s value in dressing well, and prefer the convenience of skipping the trip to the mall.

The company was founded by Brian Spaly, previously co-founder at Bonobos, who split following creative differences from Andy Dunn. Spaly, in an interview with The NYT, says that Trunk Club was profitable (barely) with revenue on track to double to slightly more than $100 million in 2014. Recode reports the deal was for $350 million.

Nordstrom seems to be a good home for Trunk Club, having previously invested in Bonobos, and having acquired flash sales site HauteLook.

Following the close of the deal, Trunk Club shoppers will be able to use Nordstrom’s tailors to make adjustments to their clothes. And there could be an option for the service to start carrying more lines of clothing Nordstrom sells, which could then allow men to return items to the store, instead via the mail, though that hasn’t yet been specified. (However, Nordstrom Rack does this with HauteLook already.)

Today, Trunk Club carries around 100 brands, but has been challenged by keeping merchandise in stock, Spaly told NYT. That could also change as Trunk Club taps into Nordstrom’s larger infrastructure.