Berlin-based start-up reverse.supply has today announced a successful raise of €5M in a seed funding round, to further impact the fashion industry in making it less wasteful.
This fresh capital boost marks the official beginning of reverse.supply’s recommerce-as-a-service solution and will be used to further build the company’s team and strengthen its platform.
Investing in the round was early-stage VC Capnamic along with existing investors Push Ventures, Dutch Founders Fund as well as renowned angels and industry experts such as Julia Bösch (CEO Outfittery) and Marcus Börner (founder Rebuy), among others.
Second-hand clothing is key to sustainability in fashion
Awareness has spread over the detrimental effects of fast fashion and wasteful clothes consumption, arising from ever-growing consumerism. These practices promote often malicious practices in supply chains that are undesirable.
This has led to the fashion industry becoming increasingly circular, with lesser wastage in every cycle. The market for second-hand clothing has emerged crucial to impacting an otherwise wasteful industry.
“Recommerce is critical to making the fashion industry more sustainable and has become a must-have for brands to meet contemporary customer needs. With reverse.supply, we will build the leading international recommerce-as-a-service provider and significantly shape the fashion industry. With the trust of strong investors like Capnamic, we can now invest even more in our growth,” says Janis Künkler, Managing Director and Co-Founder of reverse.supply.
reverse.supply as a solution fashion wastage
Founded in early 2021, in Berlin, the company sought to revolutionize the second-hand fashion market by offering its service which enables fashion brands to enter the recommerce space. Through its Berlin logistics site, the steadily growing team takes over the complex operational and technical processes involved in the resale of used products. Reverse.supply works closely with its clients enabling them to gain long-term control over the resale of their products.
With reverse.supply’s platform, fashion brands can build out their own purchasing portal for second-hand clothing, relying on the AI-driven grading system for quality control and price determination.
Used merchandise is finally displayed seamlessly next to new products in the fashion web store and can be purchased via the standard checkout of the respective store by their customers. Customer returns can also be processed and then later posted. Already, the company works with known brands such as Armedangels and dariadéh, which as well look forward the bright future of this young company.
“We are impressed with the speed and quality with which reverse.supply can bring a ready product to the market, which perfectly meets the needs of customers and the fashion industry today. The team around the industry and experienced founders Janis, Max and Konrad have everything it takes to build an international category leader in recommerce,” says Christian Knott, Managing Partner of Capnamic.
Value for reverse.supply’s clients
Companies have been able to ensure the quality and longevity of their products even long after leaving their production facilities since the first sale. This enables brands reach out to new target demographics and lead customers back to their store, gaining more long-term control over the lifecycle of their products.
“We are experiencing a turning point: Consumers increasingly see the ownership of clothing as only temporary. So far, many fashion brands have not reacted and have left the entire secondhand market to C2C marketplaces. This is hardly surprising, as the resale of fashion is more cost-intensive compared to other product groups, and with low margins. We are changing that,” says Max Große Lutermann, Managing Director and Co-Founder of reverse.supply.
