TokenPay, a crypto startup, has bought an equity stake in Naked Brand Group (NAKD), an Australian lingerie company that is best known for Heidi Clum’s fashion lines. TokenPay is looking to introduce women (via lingerie) to crypto in hopes of mainstreaming the crypto space. The average owner of crypto is men from ages 18 through 35, and TokenPay is hoping they eventually purchase crypto for their significant others to introduce them into the space.
Revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Switzerland-based blockchain startup spent $1.3 million for a 6% equity stake in (NAKD.
TokenPay Swiss AG believes the company shares are undervalued. Furthermore, it notes from recent filings, the issuer’s interest in blockchain technology, and plans to engage with management and present ideas on leveraging such technologies in the retail fashion industry, according to a company statement.
TokenPay may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of 1,840,216 shares of Common Stock. Such 1,840,216 shares represent approximately 6.2% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock.
TokenPay’s CEO Derek Capo said the move is part of the startup’s broader diversification strategy following a December 2017 token sale that netted 2,000 bitcoin, or roughly $20 million. Spending token sale proceeds on equity investments has been a hedge against crypto market volatility, Capo said. Still, it may take until 2020 or beyond for shoppers to buy Klum’s lingerie with TPay tokens.
“[NAKD] also mentioned they are interested in working with a blockchain company for logistics. We’re interested in them accepting TokenPay’s merchant services platform so that they can accept crypto across all of their brands,” Capo said. “We plan to work with the company on ways to implement the TokenPay merchant services platform and the coin to their online properties. for TokenPay this step is the first of many to increase the adoption of our coin and services to the retail industry. We hope we can introduce special promotions with the use of crypto only so that women can use it or at least look into it at worst case perhaps their boyfriends, who may own crypto would have no issue in buying lingerie for their girlfriend.”
Crypto and fashion are unique in that both always take chances to set themselves apart from others. Every year a designer needs to create new ideas whereas crypto is changing the way people globally send and receive payments. The goal is to accept TPAY and other currencies at all its online properties.
