Global e-commerce marketplace Farfetch raises $110 mn

07 May '16

3 min read

London-based e-commerce marketplace Farfetch announced it has completed a $110 million Series F round of investment. The round was led by new investors Temasek, IDG Capital Partners and Eurazeo with existing investor Vitruvian Partners also participating in the round, Farfetch said in a press release.

This round of investment, advised by Qatalyst Partners, follows a very strong growth path for Farfetch, which grew total transaction value more than 70 per cent in 2015, to more than $500 million.

Alexandre Quirici, Partner at IDG Capital Partners commented, "We are excited to back José and his team in the company's next stage of development internationally. We are particularly excited about the growth of Farfetch in China where we hope to help them achieve even greater success."

The funds will primarily be used to continue the expansion of the company's proprietary technology platform, to establish it as a leading omni-channel platform for both boutiques and brands globally and to further develop this offering for the global fashion industry; as well as consolidating a leadership position in China, Farfetch's second largest market, Japan and other APAC countries.

China itself represents 12 per cent of the company's sales with APAC collectively representing a further 14%. These new strategic investors will provide insights, networking and support, driving continued growth in these markets. Farfetch also welcomes the expertise which will come from Eurazeo's knowledge of luxury fashion and marketplaces.

José Neves, Founder and CEO of Farfetch remarked, "The vision for Farfetch was always to seamlessly integrate physical retail with digital platforms, which we have been doing since 2008, first starting with boutiques and 12 months ago adding brands to our global platform. This investment comes after strong inbound interest from investors, some of which we felt could really help Farfetch in our largest and fastest growing markets, or had exposure to marketplaces and luxury fashion."

Virginie Morgon, Deputy CEO of Eurazeo, declared: "We were enticed by the Farfetch model which covers the sectors in which we have already gained a solid foothold: digital technology, luxury goods and brand names. In addition to its international profile, multi-channel model and its perfect understanding of the rules governing the luxury goods industry, we were very impressed by the company's ground-breaking business model and the quality of its implementation, particularly from a technological perspective.”

Significant developments to the Farfetch business over the past year include expanding the site's roster of retail partners to include direct contracts with brands in March 2015, with over 75 global brands now selling through the platform; acquiring London-based boutique Browns in May 2015 in order to create a retail-tech incubator in which to develop innovative customer experiences; and developing Farfetch Black & White, the white label platform solution, that launched its first client site ManoloBlahnik.com in March 2016.

In addition to the Series F, Farfetch also put in place a secured $50 million Growth Capital Loan Facility with TriplePoint Venture Growth BDC Corp. in March 2016. Neves added "This additional facility demonstrates the strength of the Farfetch business model, as well as confidence in future development plans." (SH)

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