LONDON (Reuters) - Second-hand fashion marketplace Vestiaire Collective launched a crowdfunding campaign on Tuesday to raise at least one million euros ($1.09 million) from individual investors as the Kering-backed business aims to become profitable by year-end and potentially go public.
Vestiaire Collective will advertise the crowdfunding, which is open to anyone over age 18 in Europe and the UK, on its website and mobile app, CEO Maximilian Bittner said.
"The goal is really to bring our most loyal customers into our shareholder base," said Bittner. "We really see this as a marketing effort to connect with our community."
The crowdfunding is priced at 1.78 euros ($1.94) per share, valuing Vestiaire at 1.1 billion euros ($1.20 billion). That is in line with a November funding round led by private equity firm Eurazeo (EPA:EURA), its biggest shareholder with a stake of around 25%. In mid-2022 the company was valued at 1.4 billion euros.
"It's reflective of the current environment but I think it is a fair valuation," said Bittner. The luxury sector is slowing down globally as aspirational and high-end consumers curb their spending.
Still, sales grew 25% on the Vestiaire platform last year, a spokesperson said, as people are increasingly buying second-hand clothes and accessories, a trend that has driven top fashion houses and retailers to set up resale sites.
Vestiaire, which earns a fee when customers sell items like Gucci bags or Burberry trench coats through the site, calls itself a marketplace for "desirable" pre-owned fashion. Since November 2022 it has banned more than 60 "fast fashion" brands from being sold on the platform, including Boohoo (LON:BOOH), Gap, H&M (ST:HMb), Shein, Uniqlo, and Zara.
Founded in Paris in 2009, the company aims to become profitable around the end of 2024, and an initial public offering "would be the natural next step after we reach profitability," the spokesperson said in an email.
Gucci owner Kering (EPA:PRTP) holds a 5% stake in Vestiaire. Softbank (OTC:SFTBY) has been an investor since 2021, though the company has not disclosed the size of its stake.
The crowdfunding, through UK-based platform Crowdcube, will open on Tuesday with a subscription phase starting on Feb. 6.
($1 = 0.9189 euros)