“Two years ago, I’d look at my own closet with an assorted collection of unopened, unworn shopping bags sitting on the floor – and still find myself saying, ‘I have nothing to wear!’ Just like me; millions of Indian women stock their closets with stuff worth over one billion dollars every year and still have nothing to wear. Nearly, a third of their closet is never worn and another third is worn once or twice at the most.
“I wanted to change that. I wanted to create a platform that assists preloved clothes and accessories in finding new homes in new wardrobes, so nobody will ever have the problem of feeling like they have nothing to wear, and have fun while at wearing it!”, says Rashi Menda.
With this inspiration, Rashi launched Zapyle, a Instagram like fashion marketplace to discover, sell and buy pre-owned fashion attire. The startup today announced that it has raised $1 Mn in a funding round.
Bangalore-based Zapyle provides a platform for women to discuss and share love for fashion. The platform lets women sell out their pre-owned fashion products without worrying about anything.
Since people are hesitated to use pre-owned fashion due to quality issues, the company has ensured a quality control. They accept products that come from an exclusive list of 1,200 domestic and international brands such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Tory Burch and many other designer which means the quality of all the merchandise from these brands will naturally be of high standard.
How it works:
- To sell an owned item(s), the user just has to click the picture of the item and list it for sale. The pricing for pre-owned clothes is calculated on the basis of “how long ago was the product purchased”, its brand and condition. Then the proprietary algorithm fetches data from the previously mentioned parameters and suggests a range of prices for that product.
- Once the buyer clicks to buy the product, Zapyle team makes arrangement for pick up of product from the seller’s location and get it delivered to the buyer. Once the product is delivered to the buyer, the company transacts amount into the seller account.
- The company also offers a buyer timeline of 5 days to check and decide whether or not to keep the product.
Zapyle’s app is divided into 4 styles – Boho, Chic, Trendy, and Classic, which let the users discover their styles and personalize their newsfeed as per their requirements.
The company is targeting women between 18 to 30 years, specially the ones who are active on social media.
The startup charges a flat 25% commission on the sale value in order to take care of all transaction-related costs.
The portal also provides an inside access to follow some of the best fashionistas around town, each with their own distinct style and sensibilities.
Zapyle will be using the funds raised in this round for hiring the best talent, acquiring users, and marketing. It is also planning to partner with international brands, stylists and bloggers in the coming future to provide more fashion options for its users.
