Digital luxury watch marketplace Chrono24 announced on Wednesday (Aug. 11) that it has raised more than 100 million euro ($118 million) in a Series C round, in an effort led by General Atlantic with participation from Aglaé Ventures.
Existing investors Insight Partners and Sprints Capital also participated in the latest fundraising round, which makes Chrono24’s all-time fundraising total more than 200 million euro ($236 million). The company will use the new money to help with growth, including international expansion in existing and new geographic markets.
Chrono24 will also increase its focus on pre-owned luxury watches and will try to increase its customer base to include more young collectors. The company has about 500,000 unique visitors per day, who have access to more than 3,000 retail dealers and 30,000 private sellers in more than 100 countries.
Related: Amazon Upgrades Luxury Marketplace With Glossy Ads Aimed At Designers, Customers
Luxury goods are more in focus than ever with Amazon launching its Luxury Stores marketplace in September 2020. Luxury Stores customers have access to a unique customer service hotline and exclusive items from each luxury brand. Amazon’s luxury leap is part of “Amazon Fashion Connects,” which focuses on relationships with European designers.
A recent PYMNTS tracker found that online luxury purchases grew 39 percent worldwide year over year in both April and May of 2020. Online retail sales are expected to account for 25 percent of total luxury purchases by 2025, up from 10 percent in 2019.
The reduction of online checkout frictions has led to faster transactions, which make it more likely that consumers will embrace shopping internationally. One recent survey found that 68 percent of consumers had made online purchases from international merchants within the past year.
Consultancy Bain & Company said in May that sales of luxury goods could rebound from the pandemic as early as this year thanks to shoppers in the U.S. and China, not in 2023 as previously forecast. Fashion icon Anna Wintour predicted a “roaring twenties” boom for luxury goods and high fashion earlier this year as people come out of lockdown.
Luxury items including handbags, luggage, apparel and watches are also expected to be a hot commodity this holiday season as shoppers shift from what they need to what they want.
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