Dubai-based luxury resale marketplace The Luxury Closet has raised investment from Huda Beauty Investments, the private investment office of Huda, Alya & Mona Kattan & Christopher Goncalo, the founders of one of the leading global cosmetics brands Huda Beauty.
HB Investments was first announced in 2017. According to the statement, it invests in early-stage businesses and helps the founders by building their brands and expanding reach. It has made some other investments as well but apparently has been quiet about them. The Luxury Closet is one of the first announcements by HB Investments.
The size of this investment in The Luxury Closet was not disclosed but the statement by HB Investments noted that it is part of an ongoing $11 million round in which Dubai-based MEVP (Middle East Venture Partners) is a co-investor. MEVP is one of the early backers of The Luxury Closet.
Founded in 2012 by Kunal Kapoor, The Luxury Closet is an ecommerce marketplace for pre-owned luxury goods including watches, handbags, clothing, shoes, and accessories. The platform focuses on the resale of ‘perfect condition’ items from high-end brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Rolex from sellers across the Middle East. In a statement, the startup said that it has listed 80,000 items worth $120 million from 5,000 sellers.
The Luxury Closet, according to the statement, has raised $18 million in total financing to date. It had closed an $11 million growth round in May last year. In 2015, it had raised $2.2 million in a Series A round. The ecommerce startup last year had also acquired Guiltless, a Hong Kong-based ecommerce platform for resale of luxury products. The statement said that 60 percent of The Luxury Closet’s revenue comes from the Middle East & North Africa – and the rest of 40 percent from markets in Asia and the United States.
The strategic partnership with Huda Beauty Investments is a big milestone for The Luxury Closet. The founders of Huda Beauty help the company with brand development using their massive reach on social media. The partnership will “harness the combined understanding of consumer behavior in fashion and beauty and to drive brand awareness and increase the adoption of resale,” said the statement. Huda Beauty has close to 50 million followers on Instagram (which makes it one of the most followed brands there). Huda, Mona & Alya (collectively) have over 6 million followers on their personal Insagram accounts as well.
Kunal Kapoor, the co-founder and CEO of The Luxury Closet, said, “Given the economic situation, people are increasingly valuing circular businesses as they are an affordable and sustainable way to refresh their wardrobes. This has expedited The Luxury Closet’s growth across market cycles. HBI’s investment in The Luxury Closet is excellent news for our company. The partnership will help us bring the concept to a whole new audience.”
Mona Kattan, the co-founder and Global President of Huda Beauty who is joining The Luxury Closet’s board, said, “I have always been an advocate of circular fashion, and I am very excited about our endeavors with The Luxury Closet. At the beginning of our entrepreneurial journey, we did not have the means to purchase Fashion Luxury items and thus opted for vintage and second-hand shops. I’m very pleased to be part of the board alongside likeminded individuals and a business that offers a unique service that fills a major gap in the market.”
Huda Kattan, Chairperson of HB Investments and founder of Huda Beauty, said, “We are excited to partner with The Luxury Closet. Sustainability is one of our primary focuses and a core tenant for the HBI portfolio. In our continued effort to champion responsible and eco-friendly businesses, we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about our partnership with The Luxury Closet.”
Walid Mansour, Partner & Chief Investment Officer, MEVP added “The resolve and resilience shown by Kunal and the TLC team is the driving force behind MEVP’s continued commitment to making TLC the most trusted and loved online fashion marketplace in MENA. We are growing faster than ever and have established footprints from Hong Kong to California. With this fundraiser, we will achieve significant supply goals such as garnering over 100k SKUs which will make The Luxury Closet MENA’s largest luxury mall.”
Source: MENAbytes