Farfetch.com raises growth

Online fashion marketplace farfetch.com gained a $4.5 million growth equity investment from Advent Venture Partners. Besides the equity growth, Frederic Court, General Partner at Advent, is joining the board of farfetch.com. The growth will further help farfetch.com

to expand in Europe, North America and Brazil.

London based farfetch.com was founded by entrepreneur José Neves in October 2008, and initially open to European boutiques. It expanded to North American boutiques in 2009. The site has experienced rapid growth and now represents 44 boutiques that sell over 1,000 brands and 11,000 individual lines through its marketplace. Visitor numbers have increased over 70% every six months since launch, which reflects in its sales over the last six months and went up with 105% in comparison to the last six-month period.

The site’s customers have access to a handpicked collection of clothing, accessories and lifestyle pieces by designer brands, ranging from established names such as Comme des Garçons and Balenciaga to emerging designers such as Current Elliot and Bless. L’Eclaireur, the original Paris concept store, is the latest to offer customers access to its array of global brands and fashion vanguards, joining the site for the AW10 season.

farfetch.com also announced to strengthening its team with Susanne Tide-Frater joins as Brand and Strategy Director. Susanne is the former Creative Director at Harrods and Selfridges, and is currently Fashion Director at 19 Entertainment, where she helps develop its fashion collections including Victoria Beckham and Roland Mouret. Andrew Robb joins as Chief Operating Officer. Previously, Andrew was Managing Director of membership-only online retailer Cocosa. He brings with him a wealth of ecommerce experience.

Advent's new investment will be used to continue expanding operations in Europe and North America as well as to expand into Brazil. farfetch.com has already built a global following, with customers in over 100 countries. Approximately 40% of orders come from the UK and Europe, 30% from North America, 15% from Asia and the Middle East, 5% from Australia and 5% from Brazil and the rest of South America.