The Luxury Closet, an e-commerce venture that sells used fashion items, closed an $11 million funding round as it expands its operations outside the Arabian Gulf.
The Dubai business, founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Kunal Kapoor, intends to use the capital to expand into Hong Kong following its prior acquisition in the city of an e-commerce website, Guiltless.com, it said.
The company did not specify when the acquisition of Guiltless took place or the value of the deal, or whether the purchase was made using the funds raised in this latest round. The Luxury Closet was not immediately available to provide clarifications.
"2019 is proving to be a very exciting year for us – the Luxury Closet has built one of the best catalogues in the world and we are now taking it international," said Mr Kapoor, who is also chief executive of The Luxury Closet.
“With the acquisition of the operations of Guiltless.com, it will provide us with a strong foothold in the rapidly growing Asian market and enable us to offer delivery and concierge services to our customers in Hong Kong.”
The $11m fundraising round was led by Knuru Capital, a new Abu Dhabi venture capital fund. Following the close, Knuru becomes a shareholder of The Luxury Closet, alongside Dubai venture capitalists Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and Wamda Capital.
Last year, The Luxury Closet secured $8.7m from investors led by MEVP, with participation from Wamda Capital, Precinct Partners, Tech Invest Com, Saned and Equitrust. MEVP provided some of the initial seed funding for the company.
The latest transaction contains a secondary portion that allows MEVP's seed vehicle, MEVF I, to provide its limited partners an initial return on their investment, the company said. MEVP still remains the biggest shareholder.
“The Luxury Closet is disrupting not only the $10 billion personal luxury consumption market in the GCC but also opening up ultra-valuable GCC [wardrobes] to a fast-growing global demand for unique pre-loved luxury items,” said Walid Mansour, partner at MEVP.
“Knuru’s investment underscores our bullishness and confidence in the success of The Luxury Closet.”
The Luxury Closet is an online marketplace for owners of luxury goods who want to resell them at a discounted price. Items on sale on the website are of fashion products by brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel, which do not otherwise discount out-of-season stock.
Delta Partners Corporate Finance acted as financial adviser for The Luxury Closet fundraising round, according to the company.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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