Pier 12 backs baby products retailer The Memo with $20 million minority investment
Parenting retailer The Memo has secured a $20 million minority investment from Melbourne-based growth investor Pier 12 Capital to accelerate store roll-out and scale its in-house postpartum brand, Due.
Transaction snapshot
Deal value: A$20 million minority equity investment
Deal multiples: N/A
Deal type: Growth capital, minority stake in omnichannel parenting retailer
Investors: Pier 12 Capital (formerly Auctus Investment Group)
The Memo was founded in 2019 by co-founders Phoebe Simmonds and Kate Casey after they became frustrated with traditional baby retail. The business started as an ecommerce site and now operates an omnichannel model focused on the early parenting lifecycle, spanning pregnancy, postpartum, baby and toddler categories. Its head office is in Melbourne.
The company currently runs four boutiques in Armadale, Fitzroy and Highpoint in Melbourne, and Bondi Junction in Sydney, alongside a national online store. Revenue has been growing at around 40 per cent year-on-year, supported by a customer base built through social media and content, including an Instagram following above 100,000.
Pier 12 Capital, which has previously backed Petstock and Luxury Escapes, has taken a minority position via a dedicated Memo fund. The firm describes The Memo’s leadership as “strong” and “dynamic”, and says the business model has clear potential to lead the parenting and baby retail category in Australia.
Growth capital from the transaction will be used to widen The Memo’s retail footprint beyond its current Sydney and Melbourne base. New stores are planned for Perth, Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and Mosman in Sydney, with management also flagging expansion into Adelaide and other cities so the brand can “meet customers where they are” rather than relying on long-distance travel to existing stores.
Simmonds, formerly a marketer at LVMH, and Casey, who specialised in buying at Mecca, have applied a luxury retail mindset to the parenting category. Store staff are expected to engage with customers within 15 seconds of entry and to focus on understanding how a customer is feeling, rather than assuming any technical knowledge about products such as prams, breast pumps or newborn care. The founders position this service model as a contrast to big-box incumbents like Baby Bunting, where they argue there is often heavy assumed knowledge and less emphasis on education.
The Memo has also invested in owned brands and technology. In 2024 it launched Due, a postpartum skincare and recovery line that it now plans to wholesale, with international markets in sight. The founders say they see Due as a brand with global potential, given the universality of motherhood. In parallel, The Memo has built a bespoke gift registry platform over 15 months, which it considers a key differentiator in its offer to expecting parents.
Beyond product and retail, the company is leaning into community initiatives. It has become a major sponsor of Mum Walk, a social pram-walking group designed to reduce postpartum isolation, with an ambition to support up to 100 walks nationally each week. The founders frame these programs as part of a broader strategy to be “more than just retail” by facilitating conversations around the realities of parenting.
