INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Vestiaire Collective just closed another big round of funding in the middle of an economic crisis — the round closed in early April
The startup raised $64.2 million (€59 million) and the company has raised more than $240 million over the year, according to Crunchbase
Vestiaire Collective operates a marketplace of pre-owned fashion items
Users can both sell and buy clothes and accessories on the platform.
There a huge list of investors in today round —Korelya Capital,
Fidelity International-managed funds, Vaultier7, Cuit Invest and existing investors Eurazeo (Eurazeo Growth and Idinvest Venture funds),
Bpifrance, Vitruvian Partners, Condé Nast, Luxury Tech Fund and Vestiaire Collective CEO Max Bittner are all participating.
With 9 million
members across 90 countries, Vestiaire Collective has become a huge marketplace
And it makes sense that an e-commerce website focused on pre-owned items is working well
There has been a ton of backlash against fast fashion over the past few years.
People now also value circular business models as it becomes
more affordable to refresh your wardrobe, especially during an economic crisis, and it is better for the environment.
As always, Vestiaire
Collective will use the new influx of cash to expand to more countries
In particular, with Korelya Capital as a new backer, the company will expand to South Korea and Japan this year
While the company started in France, 80% of transactions are now cross-border transactions.
Originally, Vestiaire Collective asked you to
send your items to its warehouses to check them before putting them on sale
The startup has been betting on direct shipping from the seller to the buyer in Europe and it has been working well
You can get reimbursed if there something wrong with what you ordered though.
Direct shipping has been available in Europe since September
2019 and it now represents over 50% of orders in the region
Up next, Vestiaire Collective will introduce direct shipping in the U.S
this summer and in Asia by the end of 2020.
