Pre-owned luxury site The RealReal to raise new round of 100m dollars before IPO

Luxury consignment re-sale company The RealReal is looking to raise a new round of 100 million dollars before it considers listing on the stock exchange. The sustainable luxury site specialises in the re-sale of clothing, jewellery, fine watches from brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Prada, as well as art and homeware.

Julie Wainwright, The RealReal's founder and CEO, is currently wooing investors about raising a new round of 100 million dollar investment according to Recode. The company has already raised more than 170 million dollars since it launched in San Francisco seven years ago.

Extending the lifecycle of luxury items

The RealReal works under a consignment model, whereby it sells items of pre-owned luxury goods on behalf of the seller, and takes a commission between 50 and 70 percent, depending on the value of the item. The company does not buy stock and unsold items are returned to the seller.

Gemologists, horologists and luxury experts are employed in-house to ascertain items are real and not counterfeit. In an interview in 2016 Wainwright stated employing gemologists and staff to authenticate the goods was expensive, but if the goods sold at a higher price it covered the cost.

About The RealReal

What started out as a site focused on women’s luxury fashion has since branched into menswear, jewelry, art, watches and home decor, with a New York City brick-and-mortar location and potentially more on the way.

According to Recode, the company is one of a handful of venture-backed online businesses in the fashion re-sale sector that is still standing and trying to carve off pieces of eBay’s business while expanding the market.

Photo credit:The RealReal website, article source: Recode.net.