Flash sales site Beyond the Rack receives $36.6M

The fashion and accessories e-tailer gets support from Panorama Investment

Beyond the Rack, recently ranked by Internet Retailer as the fastest growing e-tailer in 2011, announced Wednesday that it has concluded a funding round totaling $36.6 million with a roundtable of different donors headed by Panorama Investment, with help from Export Development Canada, Tandem Expansion Fund, Rho Canada, Highland Capital Partners, BDC Venture Capital and Inovia Capital.  

The new funding will be used to ramp up growth and bolster logistics and distribution.

The members-only flash sale site for high-end fashion and accessories joins a long line of Gilt Groupe wannabes, including (but not limited to) MyHabit, ideeli, Rue La La, and more.  What it does have going for it is the breadth of its sales.  The site promises 15 new sales events each day starting at 11 AM ET, and current events include deals on Michael Kors, Esprit Wool, Adrienne Vittadini, Ferragamo and Prada, Halo diamond pendants, and more. Events usually only last for about 48 hours. 

The company could not be reached for comment, so it's unclear how much it's doing in terms of revenue, but it was obviously enough to attract investors to shell out more than $53 million since the company's founding in 2009.

Beyond the Rack has over 3,000 brand partners. Through these partners it has been able to attract over five million members.

"Beyond the Rack is successfully executing its strategy of rapid expansion with an emphasis on profitable growth, in sharp contrast to some of its competitors," said Shahan Soghikian, Managing Director at Panorama Capital, in a statement.  "In targeting a much broader segment of consumers, we see an opportunity to build a very substantial company and are delighted to join forces to further expand its thriving business."

Soghikian will be joining the company's board of directors, which also includes Dan Neva of Highland Capital and John Stokes of Real Ventures. 

Headquartered in Montreal, the company has offices in New York, Las Vegas, and Toronto, and is supported by more than 250 full-time employees.