Rhone Apparel raises 5 million dollars in Series A funding

Men's activewear apparel and lifestyle brand Rhone Apparel isn't hard up for the money after a successful round of Series A funding. They have closed on 5 million dollars in the latest round of financing. That brings their aggregate total to 6.2 million dollars, after having raised 1.2 million dollars through seed financing back in 2013.

The recent round of Series a investors includes Steve Bornstein, former President and CEO for the NFL Network and former Chairman, President and CEO of ESPN; David Stern, NBA Commissioner Emeritus; Ryen Russillo, host of ESPN Radio’s Russillo & Kannell; Shane Battier, former NBA player, and M3 Ventures, an investment fund managed by former CAA executive Martin Dolfi.

Rhone's plans for the funding includes expanding on their R&D capabilities, increasing distribution, and investing in market opportunities. By early next year, the company is hoping to expand into a 4,000-square-foot retail storefront and open an office in Stamford, Conn. They have also secured rhone.com for their domain name so they can relaunch their e-commerce site.

Co-founder and CEO Nate Checketts said that by fall the brand will be available in 20 Bloomingdale's location, 15 Equinox locations, 2 Nordstrom locations, and 12 Core Power Yoga's, and 20 additional gyms and specialty stores.

What has helped make Rhone so successful is their use of advanced technological features in their clothes. Some of the technology they use includes incorporating silver into fibers for odor fighting, a new Polartec Power Dry for quick-wicking, and sun protection through Ultraviolet Protection Factor 50 Fabrics.