Flagship announced its expansion into the US market with one of the largest and fastest-growing U.S. performance apparel brands and several significant retail partnerships, including Mejuri and Mad Happy. The company also recently closed a $3.75 million seed funding round led by Coreline and Veridical Ventures, with participation from Tidal Ventures and Macdoch Ventures.
Over 70% of purchasing decisions happen in-store at the moment of sale, underscoring the powerful impact of visual merchandising and retail displays on consumer behavior. And this highlights how the shopping environment and strategic product placement can directly influence what customers choose to buy.
Flagship’s platform tackles this challenge by connecting store design with precise data analysis. It creates digital twins of each store location, enabling retailers to optimize product placement while providing automated revenue mapping.
Flagship’s entry into the US market follows its established presence in Australia, where the company serves notable retail brands, including Peter Alexander, R.M. Williams, and Stylerunner of Accent Group’s portfolio. And the platform has demonstrated a measurable impact across its customer base – one retail partner saved 7,000 casual hours annually through improved operational efficiency, while another was able to expand their store count by 700% without adding additional visual merchandising headcount.
Flagship’s platform enables retailers to:
1.) Maximize Store Performance—Store-specific money mapping, analytics, and insights allow businesses to optimize product placement and enhance store profit.
2.) Create Localized Visual Merchandising Guides – Tailored merchandising guides for each individual store that ensures local relevance and boosts customer experience and sales potential.
3.) Generate Significant Operational Efficiencies – Facilitate direct communication between retail management and in-store teams to implement visual merchandising optimizations swiftly.
The company experienced 357% growth in the last 12 months and has expanded its team to 12 employees across Australia and the US, with plans to grow headcount by 35% by year-end. And the recent funding will support Flagship’s US market expansion and continued product development. The company operates from offices in Sydney and Los Angeles.
KEY QUOTES:
“Visual merchandising has historically relied on manual processes and instinct. Our platform brings data-driven decision-making to store optimization, allowing retailers to maximize revenue while maintaining the creative elements that define physical retail.”
“The US retail market presents clear opportunities for Flagship. We’re working with retailers who want to bring digital precision to their physical stores, and our partnerships show how tech-forward brands are adopting this approach.”
– Simon Molnar, Founder and CEO of Flagship
“As a global jewelry brand on a mission to redefine luxury at every touchpoint, Mejuri has partnered with Flagship to implement a technology-first approach across our 40+ stores. This collaboration empowers data-driven decision-making and optimization, while championing global best practices in visual merchandising. With Flagship’s expertise, we are elevating the in-store experience and driving efficiency and consistency as we scale.”
– Kari Beiswanger, Senior Product Manager at Mejuri
“While e-commerce has benefited from sophisticated analytics and optimization tools for years, physical retail has lacked the same data-driven capabilities. What impressed us about Flagship was their practical approach to solving this problem: they’re giving retailers the tools to make smarter decisions about their stores. The strong adoption they’ve seen from major Australian retailers, and now leading US brands, shows they’re onto something special.”
– Greg Stofman, Managing Partner at Veridical Ventures
“Retailers have spent decades refining their e-commerce data strategy, but their physical stores, which drive the majority of their sales, have remained a black box. Flagship is bringing precision and intelligence to brick-and-mortar decision-making, and we’re excited to support them as they redefine an industry.”
– David Cheng, Co-Founder and GP, Coreline Ventures
