Secret Sales, the UK discount marketplace for fashion, sports and beauty brands, has raised $10 million (around €9 million) in funding from a group of established investors. The company intends to use this for further expansion in order to become Europe’s largest discount marketplace for fashion.
Two years ago, Secret Sales successfully completed a first round of financing and received 10 million euros in June 2021. Now, the same group of investors decided to lead the Series B round. These include Perwyn, a European private equity investor, Belerion Capital, the e-commerce investment specialist and early-stage investor of Asos, The Hut Group and Boohoo, and Big Ideas Group, a team of innovators that invests supported in companies in the growth phase.
“In view of the still uncertain economic climate and the particularly difficult to assess financing market, we are very proud of our success in this Series B financing. The trust of our existing investors is a testament to the incredible results we have achieved over the past year and shows that there are good reasons and opportunities to invest in Secret Sales’ business model around the world,” comments Secret Sales CEO Chris Griffins in a statement.
Inventory of 25 million items
The money will be used to further develop Secret Sales’ marketplace technology, which by February 2023 had built an inventory of 25 million items with a total value of £3 billion (about 3.43 billion euros), an increase of 125 percent compared to corresponds to the previous year.
Only in April of this year, Secret Sales started the European expansion with marketplaces in the Netherlands and Belgium. This has resulted in growth that includes 1,129 new brands and inventory in excess of £400m in less than a year. Now Secret Sales wants to build on that success and expand into 12 more European territories.
“The continued demand from brands and retailers looking for a sophisticated, profitable and sustainable way to sell non-full-priced merchandise has accelerated, and we are poised to become the only true 360-degree solution. We are thrilled to have closed this round of funding as it enables us to begin the next phase of our growth journey and create a more sustainable future for fashion,” added Griffins.
Secret Sales was acquired by retail entrepreneurs Chris Griffin and Matt Purt in March 2020 and transformed from a flash sales website into an e-commerce marketplace. As part of the funding round, Perwyn will appoint Angus Duthie-Jackson to the Secret Sales board of directors.
It has not yet been announced which specific markets the company intends to focus on next.