Reflaunt raises $11 million in Series A funding round
As the second-hand fashion market continues to grow, and retailers and labels are testing the best options to gain a foothold in this segment, the solutions offered by a start-up called Reflaunt have caught the attention of investors. Reflaunt, founded in Hong Kong by Stéphanie Crespin, Philippe Benedetti and Felix Winckler, has developed services that allow labels and retailers to connect with more than 30 websites selling second-hand fashion. Reflaunt's solutions have been adopted by Net-a-Porter, Ganni, COS, Axel Arigato and Balenciaga.
The company, which has already attracted several investors, among them Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, creative director of Swarovski, Cédric Charbit, general manager of Balenciaga, Pierre Denis, former CEO of Jimmy Choo, Nicolaj Reffstrup, former boss of Ganni, and Italian leather goods group Piquadro, has recently completed a Series A funding round worth $11 million (€11 million).
The funding round was spearheaded by two powerful investment funds, Ventech China and Bombyx Growth Fund, and also featured duty-free retail giant Global Blue. Linking up with Global Blue ought to enable Reflaunt to gain visibility and forge closer relationships with the many luxury brands currently working with the Swiss retail group worldwide.
“We have integrated the resale experience in the brand ecosystem, which allows us to record the product’s digital ID at the moment of check-out and foster a seamless resell-in-a-click experience when customers are ready to give products a second life,” said Stéphanie Crespin, co-founder and CEO of Reflaunt.
“We are excited to work with Global Blue and their portfolio of clients on physical retail executions, making Reflaunt a gateway to endless after-use destinations for each product in the market, be it resale, repair, recycling and more,” added Crespin.
Reflaunt said it is collaborating with international e-resale platforms like Tradesy, GOAT, Rebelle, The Vintage Bar, HEWI, Vestiaire Collective and Carousel. It has notably evolved its services by making it possible for resellers to place their products within brand stores. Reflaunt highlighted the fact that more than two-thirds of its users choose to reinvest the money earned from a resale, and that these resellers-consumers spend four to seven times more than other consumers.
“The resale market is one of the fastest-growing sectors in luxury, and customer demand for circular fashion is strong,” said in a press release Tomas Mostany, senior vice-president in charge of strategy and products at Global Blue. “Our partnership with Reflaunt continues to place us at the forefront of innovation for retail growth areas, enabling us to constantly offer new solutions that empower our merchants to capture the opportunities these fast-growing new sectors represent,” added Mostany.
Reflaunt stated that previous investors like Giovanna Battaglia, US retail conglomerate Madaluxe, Italian group Piquadro and TLF Ventures have also participated in this funding round.
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