Middle East Startup for Unwanted Cartier Gets New Funds

Middle East Startup for Unwanted Cartier Gets New Funds
Fotolia

The Luxury Closet, a website for buying and selling secondhand luxury goods, has received fresh backing from a group of Middle Eastern venture capital investors as it seeks to expand beyond the region, according to Bloomberg.

The site has a 20,000-product catalog ranging from 45,130-euro ostrich leather Hermes handbags and Cartier wristwatches priced at 14,726 euros to pink Gucci blouses for 465 euros. The company aims to use the funding to increase buyers and sellers on its platform.

Middle East Venture Partners, based in Beirut, led the $8.7 million funding round, according to a statement from Luxury Closet. Precinct Partners, Wamda Capital, and Equitrust, among others, also invested.

Sellers using Luxury Closet send their products to the company to keep in a temperature-controlled warehouse until they are bought, while the company’s “authenticity experts“ certify quality. CEO Kunal Kapoor founded the website, labeled as an online boutique for “pre-loved luxury items,“ and has a workforce of 80 people.