Faire’s Fundraise Pushes Valuation To $7 Billion As Independent Retail Recovers

Faire, an online wholesale marketplace for retailers and brands, has landed $260 million in funding headed up by Sequoia Capital at a valuation of $7 billion. The infusion comes after the company announced its Series E round at a valuation of $2.5 billion in November, which Sequoia also headed up, according to a Thursday (June 10) announcement.

“This latest round is validation that our vision of a more democratized future for retail is resonating with many of the best investors in the world,” the company said in the announcement.

Faire said the new round of funding will also enable the firm widen its vision. It will look to maintain its quick growth in areas such as clothing and food, and to expand in regions such as Europe. Moreover, the firm said it will find new avenues to serve its current communities while it continues traversing “the post-pandemic shift to an omnichannel retail landscape.”

Faire’s original vision was to develop a wholesale marketplace that would enable small merchants and brands to join forces “to compete on a more level playing field” with Amazon and Walmart. While pandemic restrictions greatly challenged the firm’s community during the last year, Faire said the firm persisted in working toward those goals.

“In this moment of rebirth, we are excited to help our entrepreneurs build a better future for themselves and their local communities,” the company said in the announcement.

Faire explained that merchants buy a new brand on the platform, they have 60 days to see how merchandise sells prior to providing payment. As a result, the platform only makes money if its recommended merchandise appeals to consumers.

“This alignment of incentives made for a nerve-wracking couple of months when lockdowns cut the sales of our retailers by more than 70 percent, but we stood behind our community. We refocused our roadmap exclusively on helping our small businesses get through the crisis: We provided 30-day extensions on our 60-day return window, we enabled retailers to enroll in interest-free payment plans and we waived our next-day payout fees for our brands,” the company said in the announcement.

The news comes as wholesale marketplace Abound notched $22.9 million in a Series A financing round that was headed up by Left Lane Capital.