Owner of Vero Moda makes investment in sewing tech firm

Danish fashion company Bestseller, which owns brands including Jack & Jones and Vero Moda, has invested in a firm which produces robotic sewing technology.

The technology, developed by Softwear Automation, is a fully autonomous sewing solution.

Bestseller said the investment will be used to accelerate the completion of the robotics technology dedicated to t-shirt production, initiate the scaling of production capacity, and strengthen research and development.

While yarn production has long been fully automated, Bestseller said that the time may now have come for ready-made garment (RMG) production.

The company’s participation in the $20 million Series B1 funding round was made through Invest FWD, Bestseller’s dedicated innovation and investment platform.

“We believe that Softwear Automation can help address some of the key challenges we face across the industry – from speed and flexibility to reducing the environmental impact of garment production,” said Thomas Børglum Jensen, chief financial officer at Bestseller. “We are pleased to support their development and look forward to exploring how their advanced technology can help us move forward.”

Bestseller has recently made investments in other companies including Kintra Fibers, which makes biodegradable polyester, and cotton producer Artistic Milliners.

The company said a significant factor for the investments is that they not only meet Bestseller’s needs but also help push the entire fashion industry forward.

In total, Bestseller said it has invested more than DKK 200 million in innovative companies that aim to create the materials of the future and contribute to breakthroughs that can assist in the transformation of the fashion industry.

As the fashion industry is still linear, Bestseller said it aims to invest in technology which can transform the clothes worn today into new garments for the next generation.

In 2023, Zara-owner Inditex signed a three-year agreement to buy a portion of the annual production of cycora, a material made from post-industrial and post-consumer polyester waste.
The company said that the €70 million deal with Los Angeles-based material science company Ambercycle, which produces the material, would help to scale production of recycled polyester on an industrial scale.