LONDON, May 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Farfetch announced it has completed a US $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.
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This round of investment, advised by Qatalyst Partners, follows a very strong growth path for Farfetch, which grew total transaction value more than 70% in 2015, to more than US $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% 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 Chief Executive Officer 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. We salute the omni-channel vision and digital expertise of the management team, in particular the company's Founder and Chief Executive Officer José Neves."
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 US $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."
NOTES TO EDITORS
Farfetch's current investors also include: - Advent Ventures Partners, Index Ventures, Condé Nast international, Novel TMT, e.Ventures, DST Global, Richard Chen (Venture Partner at Chinese VC firm Ceyuan), Felix Capital
About Farfetch
Farfetch is a revolutionary way to buy fashion. The pioneering website brings together products from more than 400 of the world's best independent designer boutiques and global brands from more than 37 countries including Paris, New York and Milan to Bucharest, Kuwait and Tokyo.
Our partners have been carefully selected for their unique approach, forward-thinking attitude and diversity, and include such renowned boutiques as Browns in London, L'Eclaireur in Paris, H. Lorenzo in LA, Kirna Zabête in New York and Excelsior, Milan; and brands including Derek Lam, J.W Anderson, Roksanda, AMI Paris, Dion Lee and La Perla.
Founded in 2008 by the Portuguese entrepreneur José Neves, the site is now translated in 9 languages servicing over 190 countries. For lovers of beautiful fashion Farfetch offers the chance to indulge a passion and shop the world.
http://www.farfetch.com @Farfetch
About Temasek
About IDG Capital Partners
About EURAZEO
About Vitruvian
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