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News

Hush appoints Philip Mountford as chairman

Hush has appointed Philip Mountford, former CEO of Hunkemöller and Moss, as its new chairman. With over 40 years of executive retail experience, including his role as Managing Director at Versace and a 15-year tenure as CEO of Hunkemöller, Mountford brings valuable expertise. His appointment follows a successful brand relaunch and strengthens Hush’s leadership as it pursues growth in the UK and internationally.

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News

The Cotswold Company opens Cotswold Home Delivery Training Academy

The Cotswold Company have announced the opening of a delivery driver training academy (CHD) and a further delivery depot, moving them steadily closer to becoming a leading premium homeware brand in the UK.

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Insight

Responsible Retail: Sustainable Tech We're Watching

The retail sector is in constant evolution, shifting in response to the ebb and flow of consumer demands, macroeconomic factors and increasingly, environmental concerns. As the environmental footprint of both retailers and consumers comes under growing scrutiny, we’re closely watching a handful of exciting technologies poised to address these challenges, helping the industry become more sustainable.

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Insight

Beyond D2C: True's Holistic Approach to Consumer & Retail Investing

At True, we pride ourselves on being specialist investors in the Consumer and Retail sectors. Many associate "Consumer" with D2C physical products, but the reality is much broader. In this blog, Mike Martin, Director in the VC team shares more on our investment strategy and remit.

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Insight

Why are sports stars investing in food and drink and how can you sign one up?

Major sporting heroes are increasingly investing in food and drink brands, giving these products star power and health credibility. Joe Seager-Dupuy, Director of VC Investment at True, shares insights in The Grocer's recent article on how brands can cut through the noise and stand out by leveraging the influence of famous athletes. Learn how these high-profile deals begin and the impact they can have on your brand.

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News

Ribble Cycles appoints Sean Hastings as new CEO

Ribble has named Sean Hastings as its new CEO. Hastings, a veteran in consumer sector transformation, brings a wealth of experience from B2C Group, River Island, and Pentland Brands. This strategic move follows the recent appointment of Becks DeNiro as chair. Current CEO Andy Smallwood will transition to a senior adviser role, ensuring a smooth leadership change.

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News

RIBBLE REBELLION Rides at USA’s Armed Forces Cycling Classic

RIBBLE REBELLION electrified at the US Armed Forces Cycling Classic this past weekend with extraordinary bikes that pay tribute to the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. Cole Davis (USA) was on the striking Ribble Ultra SL R P-51 Mustang Special Edition, and British rider Matthew Bostock was on the Ultra SL R Forces Special Edition. The bikes, inspired by WWII aircraft, were then auctioned to support TAPS, a charity aiding military families.

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Insight

Tips for securing a call with VC investors

At True, we understand the challenges of securing that first crucial call with investors. In this article, we dive into the essentials of crafting a standout pitch deck. Learn how to align with our investment thesis, articulate your market opportunity, highlight your team's strengths, and more.

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News

Ribble Collective: Ride More in ’24

The Ribble Collective continues into 2024 following a very successful first season, now with a wider reach including riders covering Road, Gravel & Triathlon disciplines.

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Insight

Interview: Jean-Michel Chalayer, founder of JENA

As part of the quick founder questions series – or QFQs – Maddyness spoke to Jean-Michel Chalayer, founder of Jena about recent investment, backing solopreneurs and the importance of flex culture!

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News

RIBBLE REBELLION: Make Some Noise

Ribble partner with HUUB to launch RIBBLE REBELLION Race Kit at Redlands.

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JENA Secures £1.2M Pre-Seed to empower UK solopreneurs

JENA, a UK SaaS platform that enables solopreneurs to run their businesses smoothly instead of piecing together disjointed tools, secures £1.2 million in an oversubscribed Pre-Seed funding round led by True & Gfund.

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Opinion

Beyond Borders: True in Europe

This year so far, we’ve been spending more time in major European tech and start-up hubs including Berlin, Paris and Barcelona, with the Nordics to come in Q2, meeting with other VCs and founders with a view to increasing our investments in European markets.

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News

RIBBLE REBELLION Unleashed

RIBBLE REBELLION is the all-new racing team founded by Ribble Cycles, with the primary focus of disrupting the global Crit circuit.

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News

Interview with The Cotswold Company's CEO, Ralph Tucker

Retail Gazette's Aoife Morgan sits down with The Cotswold Company's CEO, Ralph Tucker, to discuss his take on throwaway furniture, its value push and 2024 growth plans for the business.

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News

Would this make you switch to a DIY hair dye?

A new launch from Bleach promises to rebrand the permanent colour aisle.

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News

Soulfresh appointed Australia and New Zealand Distributor for Liquid Death

Soulfresh will be ‘murdering thirst’ in 2024, launching global mega-brand Liquid Death in Australia and New Zealand.

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News

Ex-Gymshark Chief joins Brawn with seven figure investment

E-commerce investor and former Gymshark Chairman, Paul Richardson, has been appointed President for fit-tech start-up Brawn, the world’s first, connected community strength training platform.

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Opinion

5 advantages to being sector specialists in 2024 and beyond

Specialist investing appears to be gaining momentum. Atomico’s State of European Tech report 2022 showed roughly 40% of VC funds (and roughly 45% of Pre-Seed and Seed funds) were planning to increase their specialism in investment focus going forwards, second only to growing their networks. Joe Seager-Dupuy, Investment Director at True, explores why Specialist strategies will thrive in uncertain markets, with a focus on the VC strategy he leads alongside Mike Martin.

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News

The Cotswold Company enjoys bumper Christmas as sales soar

The Cotswold Company enjoyed a bumper Christmas, with the nine weeks to 31st December seeing net orders surge 13% to £16.4m, up £1.8m on the same period last year and 64% on pre-Covid results. Take a look at their winning formula and their plans for 2024.

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News

Milano Vice dishes up $9M in Series A funding round

Milano Vice secures funding to expand its business and scale its operations both within Germany and internationally.

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News

SeeChange Technologies Raises £8M in Seed Extension Funding to Transform Global Retail with Visual AI

Funding infusion accelerates commercial deployments and SeeChange's vision for a smarter, safer retail future.

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Insight

A masterclass in community: Inside Sneak's formula for cultivating an invested user base

Following our recent event, there was a lot of interest around how our portfolio company, Sneak, had built such an engaged community. Our Head of Marketing, Danielle Le Toullec, sat down with Lauren Carroll, Head of Comms at Sneak to delve deeper into their community development and growth off the back of one of the brand’s biggest ever campaigns. The Halloween-themed drop - Satanic Cult - drove enormous community engagement, leading to a UK sellout in just 18 hours & global sellout in 1 week.

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News

Hush brand re-launch

You may have noticed Hush has changed a little this month – a new logo, new look and an exciting new collection. Our Head of Marketing, Danielle Le Toullec caught up with Hush's Chief Creative Officer, Melissa Dick to discuss the brand refresh and her inspiration for the new collection, ‘A Moment in Hush’.

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News

Q&A with Ribble's Gravel World Championship rider, Maddy Nutt

Ahead of the UCI Gravel World Championships in October in Veneto, Ribble, launches its new Stone Collection Gravel Bikes which will debut at the competition by four Ribble Collective Riders. One of these riders is Maddy Nutt who shares her journey from working in finance to the podiuming at the Earth Series and being selected for team GB for the Gravel Worlds.

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