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Luxury Resale Update: Rebag Snags $33M in Fresh Funding, Farfetch Acquires Luxclusif

Luxury Resale Update

Luxury resale platform Rebag has raised $33 million in Series E funding, bringing its total raised to $101 million. Additionally, luxury fashion site Farfetch is moving further into recommerce with its acquisition of resale tech solution Luxclusif.

These recent developments indicate growing momentum behind the idea of resale in luxury, a sector that had been more resistant to the idea than those at the lower end of the price spectrum. But a growing contingent of environmental- and cost-conscious consumers are pushing all areas of retail toward resale, and the luxury industry is being reshaped in the process.

“The pre-owned market is growing extremely fast and is increasingly important to both luxury customers and to the luxury fashion industry as a whole,” said Giorgio Belloli, Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer at Farfetch in a statement. “More than half of our customers have bought or sold pre-owned in the last year, and industry estimates suggest the pre-owned category is growing three times faster than the primary market.”

Rebag Builds Through Transparency, Accessibility

This latest round of funding will position Rebag for continued growth following a strong year. In the last 12 months, Rebag has experienced 4X growth in new categories such as fine jewelry and watches, added since the company’s expansion beyond handbags in 2020.

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The platform’s Clair Technology Suite, developed in-house to bring transparency to the luxury resale industry, has also helped drive growth with a 3X increase in sourcing following the debut of Clair AI and Clair Trade. The Clair AI tool instantly recognizes and prices bags from the top 50 luxury brands, simplifying the listing process for sellers; and the Clair Trade trade-in program allows users to buy and sell items in one transaction, only paying for the difference in price.

Since the debut of Clair Trade, one in five buyers has simultaneously traded items to Rebag. Rebag’s Chief Client Officer Geronimo Chala shared how the company is creating a “client loyalty loop” with solutions like these in a recent edition of the Retail Remix podcast.

Rebag also plans to use its fresh funding to scale its tech-enabled brick-and-mortar business. Over the past year, Rebag has modified its traditional retail model by integrating tech touch points throughout the store that are aimed at providing consumers with an immersive retail experience in a more compact format.

At each “Clair Corner,” customers can use a self-service kiosk to receive an instant price quote on the item they are selling via the Clair by Rebag software suite. In December 2020, the company launched its first “Rebag Bar” in New York City, a micro version of its traditional store that offers a gateway to the Rebag ecosystem through a personalized digital shopping journey. Recent store openings include locations in Greenwich, Conn. and Beverly Hills, Calif., with more planned for 2022.

“Since the company’s inception, our vision has been to fuel the circular economy and create further transparency in the resale market,” said Charles Gorra, Founder and CEO of Rebag in a statement. “This latest round of funding will allow us to further develop our technology and launch features that democratize access to information and create an ecosystem that benefits consumers and retailers alike.”

Rebag’s Series E round was led by private equity firm Novator, with participation from existing investors including General Catalyst.

Farfetch Plans: Grow its Own Resale Operation and Power Other Brands’

Luxury fashion platform Farfetch has acquired the B2B resale-as-as-service solution Luxclusif for an undisclosed amount as it works to become to become “a global platform for pre-owned luxury for both customers and industry partners.”

Founded in 2013, Luxclusif offers a turnkey solution that enables the acquisition, authentication and sale of secondhand luxury goods to and from auctions, retailers, ecommerce platforms and stores worldwide. Farfetch has worked closely with Luxclusif for a number of years, first through its start-up accelerator program and most recently through its own resale service, Farfetch Second Life, the European iteration of which was built on the Luxclusif platform.

Farfetch plans to leverage Luxclusif’s capabilities to accelerate its resale operation with the development of new technology and services such as automated pricing, as well as enabling faster geographic and category expansion of Farfetch Second Life. Following completion of the transaction, the Luxclusif team will operate Farfetch’s Second Life platform service, integrating both existing and new partners into the program.

Additionally, Luxclusif will continue to sell pre-owned product it acquires from specialist suppliers and luxury consumers through Second Life, or similar programs it operates for other luxury industry partners. Luxclusif also will operate white-label pre-owned propositions for other luxury brands and sellers.

“Luxclusif joining the Farfetch group allows us to expand the company’s pre-owned offer for our customers, for brand and retail partners and for other suppliers of pre-owned products,” said Belloli. “We aim to become the leading global platform for pre-owned luxury.”

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