FarFetch, a UK–based online market for independent fashion labels, has raised $20m from a consortium led by publisher Condé Nast International as a new investor.
Venture capital firms Advent Venture Partners, Index Ventures and E.Ventures, which was formerly known as Bertelsmann Ventures before the corporate venturing unit was spun out of the eponymous Germany-based media group, reinvested in FarFetch.
The VC firms invested $18m in January last year, following a $6m round provided by Advent in 2010.
Founded in 2008, FarFetch has 150,000 customers generating $129m in annual sales.
Jonathan Newhouse, executive chairman of Conde Nast, said: “FarFetch has a unique position, connecting boutiques around the world by e-commerce to sophisticated fashion customers like our magazine readers and website users.”
James Bilefield, president of Condé Nast International Digital, will join FarFetch’s board, and added: “As the leading multimedia publisher connecting people to the fashion brands they love, this investment underlines our commitment to extend the scope of our activities and back great entrepreneurs. It follows the recent news of our involvement with the e-commerce businesses Monoqi and RenéSim in Germany, plus the investment activity of our parent company Advance Publications in the US.”