Personal shopper app gets £500k for overseas push

A TECHNOLOGY firm that claims to be revolutionising digital shopping has raised £500,000 from a range of Scottish investors to help with its overseas expansion.

Skyscanner boss Gareth Williams among Mallzee backers. Picture: Esme Allen

Par Equity, the Scottish Investment Bank and leading angel investors including Gareth Williams, chief executive of Skyscanner, and serial investor Rob Dobson, are backing Edinburgh-based Mallzee. It has developed a fashion app which asks shoppers to provide details of their clothing preferences and then searches a database of 200 stores to find suitable items for them to buy.

The firm, led by 26-year-old Cally Russell, said the new funding will help with international growth and doubling the size of its team to 14.

Russell said: “It’s great to pull together such a great group of investors in such a short space of time. In the last 12 months we’ve started to change the way the world shops with our mobile focused approach and this proves that we’re going in the right direction.”

Mallzee sees itself as the ultimate one-stop shop and now boasts a user base into the tens of thousands.

The app is described as a “personal shopper in your pocket”, and has been adopted by top high street names such as Asos, River Island, Topshop and Urban Outfitters.

Later this year Mallzee expects to launch the app in other countries. Russell said: “We will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of Skyscanner and build a global business from Edinburgh that changes an industry.

“By the end of 2014 we aim to increase our user base from the tens of thousands to 250,000 shoppers all around the world.”