The Ivory Company INKS $525K Seed Round

The Ivory Company, an Atlanta based home-decor company, has raised of $525,000 in angel financing. The money will be used for working capital and development, the company said. Details about investors were not released.

PRESS RELEASE
The Ivory Company, LLC (http://www.theivorycompany.com), an Atlanta based home-decor company focused on curating an assortment of gently priced quality home merchandise in white and ivory, announces the closing of an angel round of investment capital.

The company has raised a total of $ 525,000 from various angel investors and intends to use the investment to fund startup operations, test and proto-type the concept across the marketing mix and to launch an omni-channel proof of concept as early as March 2013.

Founder of The Ivory Company, an e-commerce veteran Shelley Nandkeolyar, believes that the pureness, warmth and enduring allure of the color ivory in home decor provides timeless elegance to your home decor and an inviting touch to your living spaces. Shelley, director emeritus of Shop.org has launched and scaled several e-commerce and multi-channel businesses for iconic brands like – Levi’s (www.levis.com) Williams -Sonoma Inc -(www.williamsonoma.com, www.potterybarn.com, www.potterybarnkids.com) and The Home Depot (www.homedepot.com).

As Shelley states – “We started The Ivory Company with just one thought – Experience the color of life in its purest form – and as we thought more and more about it the more we got excited about creating a brand and business that would be based on using just one color — the more we considered the concept the more appealing the concept of being all things ivory became.” His passion to provide an intimate and distinctive collection of merchandise to enhance a home is clearly reflected in the assortment being offered on the site today – which is a small start to the vision for the company.

The Ivory Company offers bed, bath, table linens, furniture, tableware and decorative accessories like figurines, frames, garden stools and vases. The site also sells decor gifts.

The introduction of Zara Home (www.zarahome.com) to the US market in 2012 is a key validation that the home decor consumer is seeking alternative value conscious merchandise. Well established high-end retailers like Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Williams Sonoma, Gumps and Crate and Barrel provide a wide assortment in home decor. The Ivory Company’s vision is to be the pioneer in creating a luxury experience for a price sensitive consumer seeking to enhance the aura of their living spaces – an assortment in the color “ivory and white” with a classic and timeless home decor sensibility.

The funding allows the company to launch catalogs combined with a concept showroom in Atlanta. Shelley comments “While the online experience is critical to capture the sale, we want our customers to experience our brand through the channel of their preference. Our long term strategy is to open concept showrooms in all the major cities in US. ”

Shelley’s founding team has decades of experience in the retail industry. The angel funding is provided by a global venture capital company in addition to several retail visionaries.