Virtual fitting room Metail raises another $12 million, opens satellite office in Singapore

CEO Tom Adeyoola wants Metail to be the ‘Google of sizing and shape’.

Ecommerce might be on the rise now, but it is far from perfect, as many consumers can attest to. One of my pet peeves involves buying and receiving clothes that turn out to be one or two sizes too big or small – which happens more often than online retailers would like to admit.

Today, UK-based virtual fitting room Metail announced it has raised US$12 million in funding to push forward efforts in eliminating mismatched sizing. The round was led by TAL Apparel, which is part of HK-based garment manufacturer TAL Group, and participated in by existing investor John Gleasure, commercial director of Perform. This will bring Metail’s total amount of funding raised so far to US$20 million – their last round was raised in December.

Metail lets users create a virtual version of themselves – what they call a ‘MeModel’ – to see how the clothes would look on them according to their body shape. The company’s vision, according to founder and CEO Tom Adeyoola, is to be the ‘Google of sizing and shape’.

According to an official statement, the funds will go towards expanding the firm’s overseas presence across South America, Asia, and Europe. For Asia, the company will be building out its existing operations in Singapore.

Six months ago, managing director Kelvin Au relocated to Singapore to open a satellite office and work on regional expansion plans. He is currently in talks with a number of high street and online fashion retailers across Southeast Asia, including certain Rocket Internet companies.

The investment will also be used to develop Metail’s mobile app, which is scheduled for release early next year, as well as to drive user acquisition and hiring.

TAL will no doubt help accelerate Metail’s entry into the garment industry. According to Au, the company manufactures one in 12 shirts globally, and one in six in the US. Their CTO Delman Lee will also be joining Metail’s board.

“We are delighted by the opportunity to be part of the Metail story. Metail shares our values on data, R&D and sizing,” says Lee. “We look forward to seeing the positive impact they will have on our industry and we look forward to helping them with the eventual move into men’s clothing.”

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