Away valued at $1.4bn after $100m series D investment

Travel brand Away has announced the close of a $100 million Series D investment round led by Wellington Management Company LLP.

The investment brings its total equity funding to $156m from investors including Baillie Gifford, Lone Pine Capital, and Global Founders Capital, one of the brand’s earliest investors.

Since launching in February 2016, Away has become one of the fastest growing consumer brands. The company reached $12m in sales in its first 12 months, grew to $150m 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;
• Fuelling 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.

Steph Korey and Jen Rubio; credit Masha Maltsava

Jen Rubio, co-founder and Chief Brand Officer, said: "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."

Steph Korey, co-founder and CEO, added: “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.”

Last year, the brand raised $50m in a series C fundraiser to enable its global expansion - which included a store in London.