Italian Pinko hires Emperia for its first metaverse project; Emperia raises $10 million Series A

Italian fashion brand, Pinko, has announced the launch of its first virtual store, developed using the Emperia platform and celebrating the opening of its new Milan boutique.

It says that this aims to “drive brand recognition and tap into new female communities, alongside empowering women around the world to feel independent and able to express their femininity in a bespoke way”.
Users will also have the chance to buy the brand’s NFTs, the Meta Love Bags, by accessing the Pinko metaverse experience.

"Opening in such a prestigious and internationally established location, we decided as mission statement to give global resonance to our new and unique store - such as its products - and the virtual shop is the most innovative environment that can guarantee us the possibility of expanding our vision of engagement for our consumers everywhere,” says Pietro Negra, CEO and Founder, Pinko.


“We’re happy to partner with Pinko, as it ventures into the metaverse, for the first time. The new experience allows audiences, worldwide, to experience the unique, bold design that Pinko is so well known for, wherever they choose to,” says Olga Dogadkina, Co-founder and CEO at Emperia.


Last week, Emperia announced that it had raised a $10 million Series A.
This followed an $875k pre-seed in 2021 (featuring Concept Ventures, SFC Capital, Blissgrowth).
The Series A round was led by Base10 Partners and joined by investors including Daphni (via its retail fund Dastore), Sony Innovation Fund, Background Capital, Stanford Capital Partners and Concept Ventures. Angels include Blissgrowth’s Jay Radia.
Dogadkina commented: “While working in fashion, it became clear to me that e-commerce was the future, but 2D websites were merely a tool that enabled an online purchase, but were lacking the customer journey and story-telling that brands are after.”


​Full story here