PARIS — Paris-based luxury resale specialist Monogram said Monday it had secured nearly 3 million euros in funding to fuel its development, with plans for international outposts and the introduction of AI in its technology stack.
The funding round was led by Paris-based family office HWA, with participation of another four angel investors from the tech, luxury and e-commerce industries.
“We have been self-financed since the start of the company a decade ago, with organic growth and a great community developed over time. With the evolution of our business model from physical to its increasing digitalization, this was a necessary step,” said founder and chief executive officer Beverly Sonego.
Launched in 2015 under the name ByLuxe and renamed Monogram in 2019, the company started as a by-appointment resale service with a first permanent physical showroom in Paris’ tony 16th arrondissement.
The resale specialist reached 9.5 million euros in turnover in 2021 and aims to reach 15 million this year. Much of its growing success stems from challenges in firsthand luxury purchasing, from scarcity to price increases; a more thoughtful way of consuming as well as brands’ circularity efforts, according to Sonego.
Although online is leading the charge of the global secondhand market, set to reach $350 billion with the U.S. expected to hit $70 billion by 2027, Sonego is adamant that a “phygital” model is here to stay.
Digital first accounted for only a handful of transactions but accelerated in 2019, when the brand reached 3 million euros in overall sales. It has since become a major contributor to an average of 40 percent yearly growth, thanks to increased digitalization and organic social media placements, according to the executives.
Monogram opened a corner at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann as part of the department store’s (Re)Store circular fashion space in September 2021 and set up a pop-up in Kith’s Paris outpost in July 2022.
The funds will be used toward recruitment of C-suite profiles, an internal development team, and beefing up the customer relationship and experience team, and developing its own technologies, with AI-enhanced authentication and pricing tools as priorities.
Developing the resale specialist’s international reach will also be a focus, both for sourcing and sales. In addition to its French outposts, which include a 1,700-square-foot store open near the Arc de Triomphe and an outpost in the La Vallée Village outlet, Monogram has put on a series of pop-up events in New York, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia or Luxemburg, destinations chosen by consumer requests.
Among the territories Monogram plans to develop in the short term are the Benelux region, as well as North Africa and Dubai, with managing director Cécile Maudy noting that a stronger international development strategy would be rolled out starting 2024.
“Throughout the years, we have consolidated our DNA and thought of our business model to become a pioneer of the phygital secondhand luxury market, offering experience and expertise with values of authenticity, quality and price,” said Sonego. “It’s only when people trust through these values that [they] can purchase with confidence online.”