Platforms like Depop and StockX have made it easier for consumers to purchase vintage clothes or lightly-used sneakers from each other, but on the other end of the spectrum, a growing number of brands have been left wondering how they can profit from this new consumer-to-consumer marketplace.
Washington, D.C.-based Recurate aims to combat that disconnect with its circular economy technology.
Recurate partners with businesses like Steve Madden to help brands capture their secondhand sales. Through a tech-backed, peer-to-peer marketplace, Recurate helps e-commerce store customers resell items they previously purchased from those brands.
On Monday, Recurate pulled in $14 million in a funding round led by Jump Capital. The round will go to fueling its product offerings and aiding company growth. Adam Siegel, the co-founder and CEO of Recurate, told Built In in an email that the company plans to use a portion of the funding to add engineers and business roles to its 40-person team.
“We have been fortunate to have a lot of interest from both brands and investors. Given that our goal is to bring recommerce to every brand, it was important to us to raise the capital to do that,” Siegel said. “Jump Capital brings industry expertise and a wealth of experience and connections. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Jump on this round.”
According to the company, Recurate currently partners with over 40 brands in fashion, accessories, outdoor and footwear sectors. Siegel said the company has partnered with a new brand every week this quarter, and the company aims to work with over 100 brands by the end of this year.
“Third-party marketplaces have fostered a projected $77 billion industry for resold goods. Recurate provides the logical evolution for this appetite to flow through the brands themselves,” Yelena Shkolnik, Jump Capital partner, said in a statement. “We expect the ease of purchasing and listing goods through brand sites will bring brands many new customers, help them retain existing customers and ultimately bring millions of consumers to the circular economy.”
