Foxtrot Market plans to double its store count by the end of 2021 after securing a $42 million Series B growth investment.
Founded in 2014, Chicago-based Foxtrot combines an upscale corner store and café with app-based purchasing that makes its entire inventory available for delivery in under an hour. Foxtrot derives its revenue equally between online sales and in-store purchases.
The round was led by Almanac Insights — which invests in a limited number of hospitality, consumer packaged goods (CPG) and food system technology companies — and Los Angeles-based Monogram Capital Partners.
Founded in 2014, Monogram Capital Partners focuses exclusively on investing in high-growth consumer and omnichannel brands. Foxtrot represents the firm's twenty-fifth portfolio company.
"Foxtrot has mastered giving their customers a seamless and convenient shopping experience — using innovation to meet guests where they are, when they want," said David Barber, founder of Almanac Insights.
"Foxtrot's commitment to building a sense of community in every market they enter by creating a space for both members of that neighbourhood and local makers to test products and grow distribution is admirable. We're proud to lead this latest investment round and be part of helping Foxtrot reimagine the future of the neighbourhood corner store."
With the investment, Foxtrot plans to double its store count by the end of 2021. This growth will include adding as many as nine stores in Chicago and Dallas, where it presently has a footprint, and expansion into new markets including Washington, D.C.
Funds will also be used to expand its line of private label packaged goods and gift offerings, and to continue the investment into nationwide shipping, which launched in January.
"Foxtrot is leading the way in the long overdue re-platforming of the convenience channel, creating an environment that is both a third place for meetings and community engagement and an incredibly easy on-demand convenience offering across both physical retail and omnichannel delivery," said Jared Stein, Monogram Capital Partners co-founder and partner.
"The company was built for where the consumer is moving in terms of providing a small format store for all of a customer's essentials, and a few bonus items that you can't find anywhere else, elevating the curation with its own best-in-class proprietary offerings."
In 2020, Foxtrot's company sales increased more than 100 percent, fueled by consistent year-over-year growth across channels. Of that growth, 55 percent derives from retail, largely from same-stores sales, and more than 200 percent from ecommerce, driven by a 100 percent increase in app downloads.
Foxtrot also made three new appointments to its executive team: Sumi Ghosh, chief operating officer; Scott Holloway, senior vice president, delivery; and Caroline Barry, vice president, strategy. The newest leadership's previous experience includes Starbucks, Instacart and sweetgreen. The team will be core to the brand's growth in this next phase, the retailer said.
"With this new round of funding and an incredibly strong executive team now fully in place, we see 2021 as a year of tremendous growth for Foxtrot," said CEO and co-founder Mike LaVitola.
"We have built a business that marries the local approach of a corner store with the convenience of ecommerce. We know how our stores operate best and in which markets, which is where we'll be going deep with our expansion efforts next. We also look forward to showcasing to customers coast-to-coast what Foxtrot is all about as we continue to rollout shipping nationwide."
Additional investors in the Series B investment include Imaginary Ventures, Wittington Ventures, Fifth Wall, Lerer Hippeau, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, M3 Ventures, The University of Chicago, Collaborative Fund, Wasson Enterprise, Bluestein Ventures and Barshop Ventures.
Backers include David Chang, founder of Momofuku; Nicolas Jammet, co-founder and chief concept officer of sweetgreen; and Walter Robb, former CEO of Whole Foods.
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