The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Jet.com Inc. raised $140 million in a new funding round before rolling out its service, building up its cash hoard to take on rival Amazon.com Inc.
The financing, led by Bain Capital Ventures, adds to the $80 million that Jet previously raised. The round includes new investors such as Google Ventures, Goldman Sachs & Co. and Norwest Venture Partners.
A company representative declined to comment on valuation, which the Wall Street Journal put at about $600 million.
In an interview, Jet Chief Executive Officer Marc Lore said the money will be used to expand operations and build a “real- time trading system for products.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Lore, an e-commerce veteran who previously founded Quidsi Inc., said Jet is a Web shopping service that will offer 10 million products through its online marketplace and guarantee the lowest price. An annual membership will cost $50, compared with Amazon’s $99 annual price for its Prime membership, which also includes streaming of online music and movies.
The site will begin shipping to a small group in March before a wider rollout in the late spring, Lore said. The Montclair, New Jersey-based company will have three warehouses nationwide that will stock common household goods. The rest of the inventory will be sourced by third-party vendors, he said.
Jet will use software to procure products close to customers to reduce shipping costs, Lore said.
Jeff Crowe, managing partner at Norwest Venture Partners, said Lore attracted investors given his success building Quidsi, which was later acquired by Amazon, as well as guaranteeing the lowest prices online.
“Raising that amount of capital shows this is a real swing for the fences idea,” Crowe said.
By: Spencer Soper; editors: Pui-Wing Tam and Jillian Ward.
The algorithms TikTok relies on for its operations are deemed core to ByteDance overall operations, which would make a sale of the app with algorithms highly unlikely.
The app, owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance, has been promising to help emerging US labels get started selling in China at the same time that TikTok stares down a ban by the US for its ties to China.
Zero10 offers digital solutions through AR mirrors, leveraged in-store and in window displays, to brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Coach. Co-founder and CEO George Yashin discusses the latest advancements in AR and how fashion companies can leverage the technology to boost consumer experiences via retail touchpoints and brand experiences.
Four years ago, when the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok in the US, its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. worked out a preliminary deal to sell the short video app’s business. Not this time.