Fleek, a London-based startup that is targeting the global secondhand clothing market, has raised €21.9 million ($25 million) in a Series B funding round This new funding brings the total amount raised by the company to €39.4 milion ($45 million).
The round was led by Burda Principal Investments. New investors in the round include eBay, FJ Labs and H14 with existing supporters such as Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital, Y Combinator and others also continuing their support.
The secondhand clothing trading marketplace, which was set up in 2021 by Abhi Arora and Sanket Agarwal, has built a B2B shop that connects suppliers, graders, retailers and resellers. It is also working on technology that can improve the way in which used clothing is sorted, priced and sold.
In a statement Fleek said: "Every year billions of donated garments are exported from cities like London, Paris and New York to facilities across the world for sorting." Meanwhile, the rapidly rising popularity of secondhand fashion shows no signs of stopping and continues to be the only segment in that has been growing much quicker than sales in traditional clothes. Nevertheless, a large part of the industry still relies on labor-intensive jobs, varying grading mechanisms, and trading over non-digital means which creates an inability to keep up with increasing demand.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Sanket Agarwal said the secondhand clothing industry contains a large amount of valuable information that has never been properly captured. He added that Fleek's technology is designed to understand secondhand inventory, pricing, and buyer demand, helping businesses make better decisions.
The company has also rolled out these tools in inventory management, product listings, marketplace operations & buyer matching. It is leveraging similar technology to revamp its operations and aid quicker product development.
Julian von Eckartsberg, Managing Director Europe at Burda Principal Investments, said the firm has experience investing in the secondhand fashion sector and believes Fleek is building the digital infrastructure needed for the industry's next stage of growth.
Fleek will use the new funding to strengthen its marketplace, expand engineering, enhance its technology platform and grow its global buyers/suppliers' network.
it's regularly collaborating along with 2,000+ wholesale suppliers and graders serving a purchaser base of over 50,000 buyers across more than 100 countries.
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