Condé Nast International Leads $20M Investment in farfetch

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Condé Nast International has led a $20m investment in farfetch – www.farfetch.com -, the world’s leading e-commerce marketplace for independent fashion boutiques; it was announced today by Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman and Chief Executive. Existing investors Advent Venture Partners, Index Ventures and e.ventures also participated in the fundraising.

“farfetch has a unique position, connecting boutiques around the world by e-commerce to sophisticated fashion customers like our magazine readers and website users. It’s a natural for Condé Nast”

“farfetch has a unique position, connecting boutiques around the world by e-commerce to sophisticated fashion customers like our magazine readers and website users. It’s a natural for Condé Nast,” commented Newhouse.

José Neves, Founder and Chief Executive of farfetch, remarked “This investment will fuel our entry to new markets while assisting our growth in existing ones. Our goal to build a unique curated global franchise in online designer fashion is brought several steps closer through the exciting involvement of Condé Nast.”

James Bilefield, President of Condé Nast International Digital, adds “As the leading multimedia publisher connecting people to the fashion brands they love, this investment underlines our commitment to extend the scope of our activities and back great entrepreneurs. It follows the recent news of our involvement with the e-commerce businesses Monoqi and Renesim in Germany, plus the investment activity of our parent company Advance Publications in the USA.” As part of the investment, James Bilefield will join the farfetch board.

farfetch launched in 2008 and brings together luxury brands from over 250 of the world’s most respected independent fashion boutiques for men and women. With 82,000 highly curated products from over 2,000 of the world’s best brands, farfetch currently has 150,000 customers in over 140 countries. farfetch is backed by Advent Venture Partners, Index Ventures, e.ventures and Condé Nast International.

Editor’s note:

Condé Nast International, a division of Advance Publications, sets the benchmark for multimedia publishing excellence. Condé Nast currently operates in 25 markets, publishing 139 magazines, over 100 websites and over 170 tablet and Smartphone apps under iconic brands such as Vogue, GQ, Glamour, Wired, Condé Nast Traveller, and Vanity Fair. Recent launches include Condé Nast Traveller in India and Russia, GQ in Brazil and Turkey, Allure in Russia, AD in China and India, Glamour in Brazil, and Vogue in Thailand and Ukraine.

farfetch is the curated online marketplace that brings together over 250 of the best independent global fashion stores, making their 82,000 highly curated products available at the click of a button. With its head office in London and satellite offices in Portugal, L.A and Brazil, farfetch forms the hub of a global fashion community that unites independent boutiques with fashion lovers. This pioneering concept brings together the collections of Europe and North America’s most influential, multi-brand designer boutiques, and so provides customers with an unrivalled range of labels and products in one easy-to-shop website.

farfetch facts and figures

• 250 boutiques globally
• 82,000 highly curated products from over 2,000 of the world’s best brands
• 4.3 million site visits per month
• 150,000 customers in over 140 countries spending on average $638 per order
• The top farfetch customer to date spent nearly $320,000 since launch on over 280 orders including 51 sandals, 48 pairs of boots and 39 pairs of pumps
• $129m annual sales with current growth rate of over 145%
• The biggest single farfetch order so far was for 36 items from 15 different boutiques at a value of over $34,400
• Sales are spread around the globe, with 65% of sales coming from markets outside the UK and US
• The farfetch boutiques occupy a total of 844,500 square feet of retail space, the size of 11 football fields

Advent Venture Partners is one of Europe’s most successful venture capital investors with a track-record of partnering with the most ambitious entrepreneurs building tech-driven businesses. We invest in proven, highly differentiated businesses with exceptional capital efficient growth, in areas where we have both expertise and high conviction. Recent successes include the sale of Zong to ebay, the sale of Qype to Yelp, the sale of Vitrue to Oracle, the sale of Dailymotion to Orange.

Since its inception in the early 1990s, Index Ventures has been dedicated to building world-class information technology and life sciences companies. As one of the early venture firms in Europe, they are committed to the development of the venture capital industry across the continent and UK.

Founded in 1998 e.ventures is a venture capital firm with global scale. The firm invests out of dedicated funds in five geographies, namely BV e.ventures (U.S.), e.ventures Europe, e.ventures Russia, Infinity e.ventures (China and Japan) and Redpoint e.ventures (Brazil and Latin America).