Resale tech company Archive raises $8 mn in new funding

Archive, a resale technology company that develops second-hand marketplaces for brands, has raised $8 million in funding to drive the industry’s next phase of resale.

The tech firm, co-founded by Emily Gittins and Ryan Rowe, provides a complete “operating system” for brands to operate their own resale platforms, allowing consumers to purchase and sell secondhand clothes directly from the integrated e-commerce site.

The latest financing will accelerate the development of new custom integrations, provide physical contact points to the customer experience, provide warehouse solutions for big inventories, and scale the engineering and operations teams.

Lightspeed Venture Partners and Bain Capital Ventures led the round, bringing Archive’s total financing to roughly $10 million. Alex Bolen, CEO of Oscar de la Renta, Shan Lyn-Ma, Co-founder of Zola, Dawn Dobras, former CEO of Credo Beauty, designer Steven Alan, and Marigay McKee, former President of Saks Fifth Avenue are among the other participants.

The financing follows initial investments from Bain Capital Ventures, FirstMark, and the founders of Warby Parker, Allbirds and Harry’s.

Sarah Smith, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, said the worldwide secondhand fashion retail market is growing, with a current value of $130 billion. Brands will inevitably own their resale market in order to recruit a new section of customers, promote sustainability, develop customer loyalty, and gain control of the experience. Archive’s team is changing the way reselling operates today. As they establish this new business line, they have constructed a better technology solution while empathizing with the particular needs of each brand.

Archive has powered the resale debuts of fashion brands such as Dagne Dover (Almost Vintage), Filippa K. (Preowned), M.M.LaFleur (Second Act), The North Face (Renewed Marketplace), and luxury clothes house Oscar de la Renta since its launch in February 2021. (Encore). Each resale site strives to mirror the company’s distinct brand story and creative vision, allowing visitors to browse both new and used products on the same website.

Alex Bolen, Chief Executive Officer of Oscar de la Renta said that they anticipate that resale will be an important driver for both acquisition and retention of their consumers for the foreseeable future. As a result, creating a comprehensive resale experience that is compatible with the existing Oscar de la Renta world has become a strategic goal. They achieved this goal with Encore by Oscar de la Renta by combining Archive’s exceptional technology with Emily and the Archive team’s ‘can-do’ attitude. Oscar de la Renta now has a one-of-a-kind customer offering thanks to their solutions, which include auction functionality and charitable donation options. They are excited to expand on their already great connection with Archive.

Ryan Rowe, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Archive, said that the only way for stores to genuinely be more sustainable is to produce high-quality products and integrate secondhand into the buying experience. It’s been fantastic to see their partners introduce reselling, and they’re excited to see it become the industry standard.