Bailey44, a privately held contemporary women's apparel brand known for its distinctive and versatile American-made designs, announced today that Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), a leading multi-stage investment firm, has acquired a 50% stake in the company. Co-founded in 2006 by two female fashion industry veterans, Bailey44 collections are comprised of perfectly fit and on trend pieces that appeal to women of many ages. With this investment, NVP's Sonya Brown and Rob Arditi have joined Bailey44's board of directors. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

Demonstrating substantial year after year double digit growth, Bailey44 has been rapidly elevated to a major player in the contemporary women's apparel market. Nordstrom's, Saks Fifth Ave, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales carry the Bailey44 brand, in addition to Intermix, E Street Denim and several hundred active retailers throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Bailey44 sales have also been boosted by online retailers such as Revolve Clothing and Piperlime. The company's plans for growth include strengthening brand awareness, international growth, category expansion and increasing its online presence. Management will continue to operate the business from Bailey44's Los Angeles headquarters.

"In NVP we have found a partner that will work with us in realizing our expansion plans into new and exciting areas. Sonya Brown and Rob Arditi worked closely with Bailey44's senior management team to ensure that the company's culture, vision and path remained essentially unchanged. We are thrilled to leverage Norwest's consumer experience and strategic expertise in e-commerce, international expansion and marketing to help take our brand to the next level," said Ruthy Grode, co-founder and CEO of Bailey44.

"Bailey44 is a leading women's contemporary premium apparel brand that is already highly profitable and well positioned for continued growth. The management team, which worked together for nearly 10 years, has an extraordinary track record in manufacturing and launching well designed clothing lines. We're thrilled that Bailey44 has chosen NVP as its partner, and we look forward to working closely with the team to continue building a major force in the women's contemporary apparel category," said Sonya Brown, general partner at NVP.

"As a bootstrapped and well-established company, Bailey44 did not need an investment partner. Therefore, we feel very fortunate that the company has selected Norwest as its partner for the next stage of Bailey44's growth," said Rob Arditi, vice president at NVP.

About Bailey44
Bailey44 is a privately held contemporary women's apparel brand based in Los Angeles that is known for its distinctive and versatile American-made designs. The company was launched in 2006 by two female fashion industry veterans. The Bailey44 proprietary 44 Knit fabric is a core staple of the company's 12 annual deliveries, including the sell-out Bailey44 Bandage Dress. Each collection is comprised of perfectly fit and on trend pieces that appeal to women of many ages. Every garment is proudly made in the USA, with European sourced knits. Bailey44 is carried in top specialty stores across the U.S and Europe, as well as leading department stores and online stores globally. For more information visit www.bailey44.com

About Norwest Venture Partners
Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a multi-stage investment firm that has partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 50 years. The firm manages over $3.7 billion in capital and has funded more than 500 companies since inception. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., NVP has subsidiaries in Mumbai and Bengaluru, India and Herzelia, Israel. NVP makes early to late-stage venture capital and growth equity investments across a wide range of sectors including: technology, information services, business services, financial services, consumer products/services and healthcare. For more information visit: www.nvp.com. Follow NVP on Twitter @NorwestVP.