- NOLD, a female-founded tech startup geared towards redefining the luxury fashion resale industry, has successfully raised €1 million in a recent seed round.
- The round was led by Tilia Impact Ventures and joined by Depo Ventures, Czech Founders, Sofia Angel Ventures, New Vision 3, and four individual investors.
- With the fresh capital injection, NOLD aims to advance its product, facilitate adoption, and open a new round to grow in the UK market.
“We firmly believe that circularity, particularly through engagement in the second-hand market, is not merely a trend but a necessity. Brands that embrace their pre-loved segments are not only demonstrating forward-thinking and environmental responsibility but also positioning themselves to enhance customer retention and return rates while effectively monetizing the preloved market. Circular fashion is undeniably the path forward, and we are committed to leading this transformative movement,” Bulgarian co-founders Boryana Uzunova and Ana Kremenlieva tell The Recursive.
Responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions and consuming more water than all the oceans combined, the impact of the fashion industry is palpable. Circular fashion, where products are recycled and reused rather than disposed of, offers a potential solution. It emphasizes the reduction of resources and waste by extending the life cycle of products.
In this context, Bulgarian-founded NOLD offers a solution for circular fashion in the luxury industry market, with a primary focus on the UK. The company’s larger objective is to divert the fashion industry from overproduction, making the most of existing inventories, with benefits for brands, consumers, and the environment.
“Our goals for the next year include entering the UK preloved market and revolutionizing it. We aim to deliver the next level of user experience by ensuring the fastest listing process, offering our users +100% payouts through our business model, enhancing the overall aesthetic experience, and, most importantly, establishing a commercially sustainable avenue for brands to participate in the second-hand market while improving their bottom line in the face of the shrinking first-hand fashion economics,” the founders add.
How circular luxury works
At first glance, the company borrows an existing model in the market, offering a peer-to-peer resale platform. Yet NOLD takes the concept further, placing particular focus on user engagement, brand partnerships, and industry endorsement.
The platform encourages users to curate aesthetically pleasing collections, see their impact savings, and actively participate in a peer-driven culture.
On the brands side, companies wishing to be part of NOLD’s initiative are offered a straightforward integration process. They provide their product database, and in return, have options on how they wish to profit from resales, by capturing either 10% of the resale value in net profit or 90% in revenue. The platform offers users the opportunity to list and sell products without commission fees, ensuring that brands maintain their distinctive appeal in a unified ecosystem.
Finally, NOLD’s ambitious endeavor is backed by an advisory board comprising industry veterans:
- Justine Liu, Former President & Chief Merchant at Girlfriend Collective;
- Maÿlis Buonomo, Former Head of Social Impact & Sustainability Communication at Chloé;
- Dax Lovegrove, who has led the sustainability strategies of brands such as Jimmy Choo, Versace, and Swarovski;
- Alexis Cepeda Maule, Managing Director UK & Europe at Reformation;
- Léon Evers, Director Brand Office Operations at Tommy Hilfiger.
To back up their efforts with data, NOLD has partnered with data-driven software provider Impact of Fashion. Through this partnership, they help brands understand the impact of their resale efforts. NOLD’s model reduces the environmental footprint, with a displacement rate of 65%, conserving vast amounts of water and reducing equivalent CO2 emissions.
The platform is scheduled to launch in Q1 2024, but you can sign up for early access here.
