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.
Online wholesale marketplace Faire said on Tuesday it has raised $400 million at a valuation of $12.4 billion in its third funding round in less than two years.
San Francisco-based Faire, which helps small retailers connect with small brands, last raised $260 million in June which valued the company at $7 billion.
The latest investment round was co-led by Durable Capital Partners, D1 Capital Partners and Dragoneer.
“It’s probably safe to say that we are unlikely to raise as frequently over the next 12 months as we did in the last 12 months as we feel really well-capitalised,” Jeff Kolovson, co-founder and chief operating officer, said in an interview.
ADVERTISEMENT
“That said, we will probably continue to be opportunistic if it makes sense for the business and for our customers.”
Investors are particularly attracted to Faire’s wholesale business model which helps small and medium-sized businesses grow online, offering shipping, payment, e-commerce platforms and marketing services, and making it possible to sell outside of the Amazon.com Inc marketplace.
Faire now has 300,000 retailers across North America and Europe, as well as 40,000 brands from over 80 countries on its platform.
“We are on track to do over a billion dollars in GMV (gross merchandise value) this year,” said Kolovson.
Founded in 2017, Faire has so far raised over $1 billion from the likes of Baillie Gifford, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Y Combinator.
By Supantha Mukherjee; Editor: Matthew Lewis
Learn more:
In the age of access, the wholesale distribution model, which comes with inventory risk and high working-capital requirements, no longer makes a lot of sense.
As the German sportswear giant taps surging demand for its Samba and Gazelle sneakers, it’s also taking steps to spread its bets ahead of peak interest.
A profitable, multi-trillion dollar fashion industry populated with brands that generate minimal economic and environmental waste is within our reach, argues Lawrence Lenihan.
RFID technology has made self-checkout far more efficient than traditional scanning kiosks at retailers like Zara and Uniqlo, but the industry at large hesitates to fully embrace the innovation over concerns of theft and customer engagement.
The company has continued to struggle with growing “at scale” and issued a warning in February that revenue may not start increasing again until the fourth quarter.