Retail News — 15th May 2019

1. Say Hello to the next Unicorn

D2C travel brand ‘Away’ has raised $100M in Series D funding at a $1.4 Billion valuation. It was led by Wellington Management. The co-founders said they are considering to add businesses like skin care, supplements and comfortable yet fashionable clothes for wearing on a plane.

2. Farfetch digs deeper into resale

Farfetch, a marketplace that connects shoppers with a global network of fashion boutiques and brands is piloting a service called “Second Life” which will allow customers to trade in their used designer handbags for credit, that can be used to purchase new merchandise.

3. Retailers open doors to crypto payments

A few retail brands including Whole Foods and Nordstrom are now accepting in-store cryptocurrency payments via a Spend mobile wallet app according to a CBS News report. Mainstream applications of cryptocurrencies have been limited thus far owing to the lack of evidence of it working at scale with proven security and viability.

4. D2C Funding Alert!

D2C underwear brand Tomboy has raised $18 million in Series B funding, led by Craftory. The company develops gender-neutral, size-inclusive underwear at a relatively affordable price point.

5. UK high street’s biggest low

According to the British Retail Consortium vacancies monitor, the national town center vacancy rate climbed to a four-year high of 10.2% last month. The vacancy rate has reportedly risen in each of the last four quarters to give the highest reading since April 2015, up from 9.9% three months ago. What this means now is that 1 in 10 high street shops are now empty!