Alex Hoye’s Faction Collective has raised $3 million of venture capital to go with the identical amount it secured on the same day in 2012.

Founded by Hoye in 2006, Faction is a maker of high performance freeride and freestyle skis. It has so far been funded by three seed rounds (two in 2006 and one in 2010), as well as the Octopus-led round it 12 months ago.

Joining the new round are angels including Christopher Spray, former venture partner at Atlas Ventures, and London’s Harvard Business School Alumni Angels.

Simon Andrews, member of the ventures team at Octopus and board member at Faction, says, ‘[Faction] are passionate about creating products based on exceptional design and cutting-edge technology.<

‘In addition to this, the team’s pioneering approach places it at the heart of the evolution in online distribution in sports retail.’

To coincide with the $3 million transaction, Faction has announced a winter takeover of cycle cafe Peloton & Co, located in Shoreditch, to build out its brand.

Hoye, co-founder of Faction, comments, ‘An unexpected thing happened with the economic downturn.’

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‘People’s relationships with brands evolved. After a go-go consumer frenzy in the 90s and early 2000s fuelled by hyperstores and cheap manufacturing, things changed. There was a major re-thinking about what matters, enabled by the rich level of personal communications that the web puts at their fingertips including peer-to-peer feedback and direct communications between brands who listen and consumers who care.’

Hoye adds that sales during 2013/14 are forecasted to be 100 per cent better, led by transactions in France, North America, Japan and Scandinavia.

‘The launch of the pop-up shop is highly demonstrative of Faction’s innovative retail strategy, and we look forward about partnering with the team as it realises its vision within this exciting market segment,’ Andrews adds.