Private equity firm Great Hill Partners invested $50m in The RealReal, a US-based pre-owned luxury goods marketplace backed by telecommunications firm Novel Group, yesterday.
The RealReal runs an e-commerce platform that sells authenticated second-hand luxury goods like high-grade fashion, jewellery, watches, fine art and furniture. Consignors get 70% of the sale price for each item they supply.
The company said it has now raised $173m in funding since it was founded in 2011, and will use the Great Hill investment to expand its luxury consignment offices, which are currently open in six US cities, and to grow its operations and live retail presence.
Julie Wainwright, co-founder and CEO of The RealReal, said: “Six years in, The RealReal continues to expand in exciting ways and this incremental capital will be instrumental in supporting the business and our continuous growth.”
Novel invested in the company through its Novel TMT unit as part of a $14m series B round in 2013 that included Canaan Partners, E.ventures, Greycroft Partners, Panarea Capital and angel investors Suzy Welch and Sukhinder Singh Cassidy.
The RealReal’s other backers include Greenspring Associates, Broadway Angels, NextEquity Partners, Springboard Fund, Canaan Partners, InterWest Partners, DBL Partners and Industry Ventures, all of which took part in its $40m series E round in April 2016 alongside E.ventures and Greycroft.