GHENT, Belgium, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Fashion tech startup Markmi has raised €1.1 million in seed funding to accelerate the rollout of its AI-driven markdown assistant across Belgium, the Netherlands, the Nordics, and the U.S. later this year.
Fashion retailers are under growing pressure to protect margins in a market shaped by shifting consumer behavior and rising costs. When it comes to markdowns—whether during mid-season sales, end-of-season clearances, or events like Black Friday—they can’t afford to leave money on the table. Yet many still rely on spreadsheets and gut feeling, leading to missed revenue & margin.
Markmi replaces these outdated methods with a smart, fast, and fashion-specific AI assistant. It empowers merchandising teams to make data-driven pricing decisions that increase sell-through and profitability. Customers including C&A, G-Star, Zizzi, ZEB, and Torfs have already seen 5–10% revenue growth and 2–5% margin improvements during markdown periods.
“Markdowns are one of the biggest cost lines in a fashion retailer’s P&L,” said Markus Krenn, VP & Head of Commercial Planning Europe at C&A. “Markmi has significantly reduced this cost for us.”
Founded by Laurent Mainil, whose family has deep roots in the Belgian fashion industry, Markmi emerged from firsthand experience during the pandemic, helping retailers manage inventory and hit revenue targets under pressure.
Markmi analyzes multiple scenarios in minutes, providing clear price recommendations that show the impact of different discount levels on sales, margin, and inventory. For instance, at G-Star EU, the tool ran 14.5 million calculations for its inventory in 5 days, enabling teams to select the most profitable strategy, in the blink of an eye.
The round includes backing from fashion and tech investors such as Wolf (Luc Van Mol, ex-ZEB), the Torfs family, and tech veterans Lorenz Bogaert, Matthias Geeroms, Jan Teerlinck, Roeland Delrue, Jonas Deprez, and PMV.
Looking ahead, Markmi plans to evolve into a full AI-powered pricing platform for fashion retail, expanding into areas like full-price optimization and promo management.
“Retailers worldwide face the same challenge: setting the right price at the right time,” said Mainil. “With AI, it’s no longer a guessing game; it’s a strategic advantage.”
About Markmi
Markmi is the AI-powered markdown assistant for fashion retail. It helps fashion teams make faster, smarter, and more profitable markdown decisions.
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