DTC’s Daily Digest brings you the latest news on the world’s fastest growing direct-to-consumer brands. In today’s edition: Mori’s new funding to drive brick-and-mortar; DoorDash adds yet another funding round; Rad Power Bikes team up with Go Bike.

Mori’s new funding to drive brick-and-mortar

Organic baby and toddler clothing brand Mori has raised more than £4m (USD$5.1m) in a Series A funding round, which will help in its plans to open bricks-and-mortar stores.

Mori sells via its own website and has 61 stockists across the UK, including Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Fenwick and Alexandalexa. It has 49 stockists in North America, such as The Tot and Sprout in San Francisco, and Yoya in New York, and a further 105 stockists throughout the rest of the world.

Guinness Asset Management led the funding round with participation from investment firm JOBI Capital, 500 Startups, and other existing investors. The money will enable Mori to continue its growth in the UK, expand in international markets with a focus on the US, open bricks-and-mortar stores, and grow its internal team.

Mori also plans to create a direct-to-consumer subscription and membership programme. These plans signal Mori’s arrival as a larger scale brand, as it looks to expand on both e-commerce and physical presences, and all on a global scale. Assuming the investment is used prudently, this could be the beginning of some serious growth for Mori over the next few years.

DoorDash adds yet another funding round

On-demand food delivery service DoorDash has raised USD$600m (£473m) in a Series G funding round, as their valuation soared to USD$12.6bn (£10bn). This new valuation is 78% higher than the USD$7.1bn (£5.6bn) valuation it achieved in only February.

Newcomer investors Darsana Capital Partners and Sands Capital joined existing investors Coatue Management, Dragoneer, DST Global, Sequoia, SoftBank's Vision Fund and Temasek.

DoorDash boasts  operations in over 4,000 cities in the US and Canada. However, profitability is something that DoorDash is still looking to tackle. It’s Series D round from last year was allocated towards geographical growth, rather than working towards a consistently profitable operation.

However, the business is now looking to build a presence through corporate partnerships and white-label services. For example, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts announced a partnership to offer free DoorDash delivery services to guests staying in over 3,700 of the hotel company's locations.

If DoorDash can continue striking high-profile corporate partnerships while replacing traditional in-house delivery employees at restaurants, a profitable business model could be worked out later to take advantage of an enormous established network.

Rad Power Bikes team up with Go Bike

Rad Power Bikes is teaming up with Go Bike Service to bring assembly, test rides, and maintenance directly to the doorsteps of their European customers. The move expands the brand's full service capabilities while furthering its investment in making e-bikes more accessible to people around the world.

The partnership compliments Rad Power Bikes' current European consumer-direct operations. Customers in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Denmark will now be able to access assembly and maintenance services.

It’s been a good few months for Rad, who secured a private round of funding back in March. The business is projected to double its revenue again this year, breaking the USD$100m (£76m) barrier. Rad has been profitable since launching in 2015, achieving triple-digit year-on-year growth. This is their first investment since crowdfunding on Indiegogo; and prior to this funding, they had raised USD$320k (£242k).

The business has also recently expanded its physical operations in Seattle, adding a new flagship showroom and service centre.