Resale Platform Wethenew Closes 20 Million Euro Series B Round
The company will expand in the Middle East backed by UAE-based luxury distributor Chalhoub Group's venture arm.
PARIS — Resale platform Wethenew, which specializes in sneakers and streetwear, has closed a 20 million euro round of series B funding.
The round was led by Paris-based C4 Ventures. Venture firm Singular, already an early-stage investor, re-upped for the round.
Chalhoub Ventures, the investment arm of one of the Middle East's largest luxury goods retailers and distributors, Chalhoub Group, joined the round.
Additional investment came form Athletic Ventures, comprised of a collective of current and former athletes funding consumer tech companies, and famed French soccer player Antoine Griezmann also kicked in for the round.
Launched in 2018 by David Benhaim and Michael Holzman, the company crossed the 100 million euro turnover mark late last year, and is on track to be profitable by the end of 2023, the founders said.
The duo completed a 10 million euro round of funding in May 2021.
This round will be used to continue to expand the platform's geographic footprint outside of France, with a concentration in
Europe and the Middle East, and improve the tech and logistics.
Currently 20 percent of their business is outside of France, with the goal of expanding to 40 percent across Europe by 2026, particularly targeting Spain and the Netherlands. The company is exploring in the U.S. but will concentrate on Europe and the Middle East in the near future with this round of investment.
Wethenew also hopes to build on the retail expertise of Chalhoub Group. “There's a lot of partnerships we can build with them, in terms of operation, anything tax-related, but also for physical retail shops,” said Benhaim. “We can build synergy between us really knowing how we can source and scale the products at a great price, and Chalhoub helping us basically understand the market better and how to grow there in the most efficient way possible.”
The Middle Eastern consumer is still loyal to physical retail shops, they said, but is increasingly open to authenticated products online. The founders see an opportunity to use a retail-online mix to build the brand in the territory, with the support of the Chalhoub investment.
Wethenew is also experimenting with physical retail in France. It opened its first permanent retail corners inside of Paris' Galeries Lafayette in March, with 200 pairs of exclusive sneakers on offer.
Benhaim and Holzman would not disclose what percentage of product mix is divided between sneakers and clothing, but said the company plans to “keep the same positioning and same content in terms of product, but we really want to expand the offer," said Holzman. “We want to address our audience, and also create more occasions for people to come and buy products that fall into what we could call the urban market.”
For now, the core products will remain sneakers and sportswear, but the founders see easy expansion into accessories such as handbags. Wethenew is also investing in AI to create dynamic pricing structures, as well as sourcing and securing supply in the expanding — and increasingly competitive — resale market.
The prospect of working with Athletic Ventures also opens up new synergies for the young company.
“We have the typical venture capital investors, but also people there are in our culture and resonate with us,” Benhaim said of working with sports stars.
On working with Griezmann, the company and sportsman are exploring how they can work together. “We could either be producing content or doing exclusive collabs,” they said, noting its early days and there are ongoing discussions of how to best leverage the relationship to grow the brand. “We are really happy to have him on board," he added.
In November, 2022, Wethennew launched a consignment platform, which receives, authenticates, handles logistics and ships out product in 24 to 48 hours for its items and partner resellers across Europe. Holzman said the combination of extensive social reach, custom-built tech and focus on in-house logistics were what appealed to investors.