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Grailed raises VC money

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  • mononon
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2009
    • 1041

    Grailed raises VC money

    This was announced a few days ago, but I wanted to get the SZ community's opinion on the increasing interest in the menswear reselling market, especially with new VC money pouring into startups, albeit mainly catering towards streetwear, such as grailed, goat, etc...

    Index Ventures just put in $15mm into grailed (no clue at valuation though). I've always been on the side that you should purchase items that you truly love and appreciate, but this sudden investor interest into platforms such as grailed will definitely further change this mindset into one of consumerism, profit, and turnover.

    Grailed, the community-driven marketplace for curated men’s clothing, announced today the close of a $15M Series A investment round led by Index Ventures, with...
    calvinc - "Found this place and omg the people here are so cool and they dress super ultra mega well!"
  • ian+
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2011
    • 746

    #2
    Don't forget that LVMH invested ~5m to stadium goods back in February.
    ...bombing the bass, blasting the beat

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    • Faust
      kitsch killer
      • Sep 2006
      • 37852

      #3
      Gonna post the NYT article, and not only because they mention me.

      Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

      StyleZeitgeist Magazine

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      • zamb
        Senior Member
        • Nov 2006
        • 5834

        #4
        the world is changing, and only those who are capable of adapting, or finding a safe haven for themselves will survive

        As a pure business i have no problem with grailed, it is providing a service that some people use to get the kind if products they need at prices favorable to them. in a way its almost like uber, providing drivers (clothing in respect to grailed) to consumers and charging a fee for the match making.

        As a designer I hate it, I think its bad for fashion. but who gives a damn what i think. my job is ti ensure that what i do is successful regardless
        “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
        .................................................. .......................


        Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

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        • Ahimsa
          Vegan Police
          • Sep 2011
          • 1879

          #5
          Here's where I see it going...
          When I used to play WoW, where there is an auction house, me and some friends used to control the market on specific goods (let's say a designer here) by being able to produce the most and had enough money to buyout all the competition and then control the market price on said goods. I could see designers doing the same through proxy users who work for them.

          Simultaneously, the same designers could use it as a way to sell off old archive and samples for extra money, once again through proxy. This is also to assume that it's not already happening.

          Also, due to the current consumers lack of fashion history knowledge/education, they could easily use old patterns to cut old designs in different fabrics claiming them as "samples".

          Either way, I can see the Grailed market quickly taken advantage of and subsequently taken over by non consumers. It'll be no different than the guys who stay overnight to cop Supreme to flip for a few thousand later on.
          StyleZeitgeist Magazine | Store

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          • SafetyKat
            Senior Member
            • Aug 2014
            • 169

            #6
            Great insights Ahimsa.

            A few months ago I attended a sustainability panel at TheRealReal's new BAM flagship in SOHO. While many of the trendy resale companies, who are seeing a significant growth of interested investors, are championing the cause of eliminating the mass waste created by the fashion industry and the "democratization of fashion", I see more concerns than true benefits. Especially now that there are some big players expecting big returns out of their investments.

            If the resale market doubles in value as expected, and continues to capture a sizable market share, what is this chanel really adding to the fashion industry as a whole? Besides potential putting a dent in clothing waste, I see more causes for concern than overall benefits. The biggest one, a combination of large conglomerates exploiting the market in order to gain a higher margin on items which they know sell well with the resale crowd. Actually, I see it as a combination of a few of your pointsAhimsa, with conglomerates pulling the strings, producing an increased amount of "limited editions", One-off collabs etc, selling a very small amount of inventory retail and then selling a significant portion on the resale market via proxies for a higher price point. I think streetwear goods are especially poised for this kind of manipulation.

            I find it hard to believe some companies are not taking steps to capitalize on this already, On the down-low at at least. Happens in quite often in other industries with large resale market.

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