AAA Vestiaire Collective tailors $209m funding round

Vestiaire Collective tailors $209m funding round

France-based second-hand fashion marketplace Vestiaire Collective has secured €178m ($209m) from investors including internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and media group Advance Publications’ Condé Nast subsidiary, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

The round valued Vestiaire Collective at $1.7bn and included investment firm Generation Investment Management and private equity firm Eurazeo.

Vestiaire Collective operates an online platform that facilitates the buying and selling pre-owned fashion goods including clothes, bags and jewellery. It boasts an inventory of more than 2 million items with 120,000 new listings added every week.

The funding will go towards the development of Vestiaire Collective’s technology as well as its entrance into new markets. SoftBank executive vice-president and chief operating officer Marcelo Claure will join its board of directors as part of the financing.

The company had raised $215m in a March 2021 round backed by Condé Nast and luxury goods producer Kering, the latter of which acquired a 5% stake through the deal.

BPIfrance’s Large Venture unit also took part in that round, as did Eurazeo’s Growth and Idinvest Venture funds, Luxury Tech Fund’s LTF & Cuir Invest vehicle, Tiger Global Management, Vitruvian Partners, Korelya Capital, Vestiaire Collective CEO Max Bittner and funds managed by investment and financial services group Fidelity.

Vestiaire Collective had previously reached $240m in total funding including $64m in April 2020 from Condé Nast, Korelya Capital, Max Bittner, BPIfrance, Cuir Invest, Eurazeo Growth, Idinvest, Luxury Tech Fund, Vaultier7, Vitruvian Partners and funds managed by Fidelity.

Condé Nast had participated in a $36.8m series D round for the company in 2015 that included Balderton Capital, Eurazeo, Idinvest and Ventech. It had already received $20m in a series C round in 2013 led by Condé Nast that also featured Ventech Balderton and Idinvest.