While we’ve had the chance to be at home more in recent years, you may have redecorated a home office or replaced a sofa. However, once the new item arrived at your home, you may have regretted the buyer, or the article did not live up to the website picture.
In any case, that oversized item needs a new home, and FloorFound is working with brands and retailers to give that couch to someone who will love it while avoiding the landfill.
We first came into contact with the Austin-based company and its founder and CEO, Chris Richter, in 2020 when FloorFound started. The company raised $4 million in seed funding in 2021 and is back with a $10.5 million Series A financing round.
The round was co-led by Next Coast Ventures and LiveOak Venture Partners with the participation of existing investors Flybridge Capital Partners and Schematic Ventures and new investor Data Point Capital.
Richter told blog line that the funding would come as more people are interested in resale. The company-sponsored survey conducted in 2021 found that more than 90 percent of U.S. consumers reported purchasing resale items, while research from First Insight and the Wharton School found that 83% of consumers who purchased second-hand products from plan to do this again, which is an increase of 17% in 2019.
“The tailwinds that supported our business in 2020 and 2021 have only improved, as has consumer confidence around sustainability, so we’ve grown accordingly,” he added.
However, reverse logistics don’t work without a plan on how to handle the return and resale of those larger items. FloorFound makes this process easier through its end-to-end technology platform, enabling the recovery and resale of returned, lightly used, and open-box things.
In February 2021, the company launched its solution, and since then, it has more than doubled its e-commerce revenue every quarter. It also grew its customer base five times, including furniture brands like Inside Weather, Floyd, and Burrow. And, Richter noted, FloorFound worked with its clients to keep nearly £450,000 worth of furniture in circulation and out of landfill so far.
According to research from Mercari and GlobalData, FloorFound is the latest to raise funding within a US resale industry that will grow more than 150% over the next decade and is valued at $330 billion. It joins Loveseat, also based in Austin, which raised $7 million in Series A funding in March for its returned goods market. On the fashion front, companies like Recurate announced $17.5 million in Series A financing this week.
Meanwhile, FloorFound plans to use the new funding to expand its market presence in the US and move into other vertical stores such as appliances, mattresses, and fitness equipment. The company currently has four major third-party logistics partnerships and more than 40 warehouse hubs, a number Richter aims to triple this year.
Richter said that what sets FloorFound apart from its competitors is how retailers, who often struggle with effective returns, put commerce at the heart ofbusinesse.
“Retailers will be missing out on a revenue opportunity if they don’t participate in re-commerce, but trade-in and repurchase is a leap forward for many of them,” he added. “By focusing on the issue of over-returns, we can help them use that inventory to launch new sales channels.”
