21 December 2015
· Latest investment comes as start-up sees triple-digit growth

· Investor brings industry insight to help accelerate expansion

Dubai, UAE: The Luxury Closet, the fast growing online marketplace that buys, sells, and consigns personal luxury goods, mostly pre-owned and at a discounted price, announced that it has secured $1 million funding from Wamda Capital, the region's premier venture capital firm.

The investment concludes a tremendous period for the start-up that earlier this year received $2.2 million financing from key regional institutional investors, including Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) -a seed investor in The Luxury Closet from 2012,Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), twofour54 and MENA Venture Investments (MVI).

The Luxury Closet carried out assiduously its growth strategy - continuing to scale up operations, expand regional reach, and invest in strategic sales and marketing resources -in order to fulfil its goal of becoming the region's premier online market place for pre-owned luxury, by the end of the decade. 

The $1 million capital infusion from Wamda Capital will fuel the next phase of its growth trajectory, with a focus on enhancing the user experience and driving brand engagement, whilst increasing market reach.

 "The business model, growth opportunity, world-class customer experience, strong leadership team and clear vision of The Luxury Closet are exactly what we look for in investment opportunities in the region. We are confident that our partnership will help accelerate its growth, and also further its position as a market leader in MENA and beyond," said Fadi Ghandour, CEO and Chairman, Wamda Capital."

Working very closely with start-ups and entrepreneurs to complete the cycle starting from early stage investing to maturity, Wamda Capital has the ability to provide them with ongoing and in-depth strategic support on e-commerce, digital content and technology, in the process creating and developing a thriving entrepreneurship culture and unlocking the potential of Middle East start-ups, such as The Luxury Closet.

"The online economy is permeating every industry and sector, from entertainmentto services and luxury, and also creating a new sharing economy where individuals are able to monetize personal assets. Our funding partner Wamda Capital understands perfectly that this shift is creating a new ecosystem and a multibillion dollar opportunity," said Kunal Kapoor, the founder of The Luxury Closet.

"We're excited to team up with such a visionary and strong collaborative partner. Their knowledge and experience is extremely valuable and will help us execute our long-term strategy and meet the opportunity in front of us," added Kapoor.

In a shifting economic climate, the Middle East remains a leading market for the luxury industry, with the highest per capita spending on luxury goods estimated at approximately $1,900 per year, and a total value of $7.7 billion (Bain&Co, Annual Global Luxury study).

Undeniably, there's a huge appetite for luxury in the Middle East, that also stimulates the second-hand market for upper premium brands, and turns these luxury goods into valuableassets, with an increasingly set resell price, and also enables aspirational luxury shoppers to afford them.

At the same time, online luxury retail is carving out its own identity, as wealthy consumers connect, research, shop and spend differently.

The Luxury Closet is at the confluence of all these market forces, and fills the gap for a large-scale online luxury offering, centred on the most coveted, authentic, pre-owned personal luxury products; targeting the savvy and mobile consumers, who can buy and sell authentic luxury products via a convenient, safe and valuable service.

To date, The Luxury Closet has acquired over 150,000 million members, over half amillion of monthly visitors from some 50 countries, and has had 3-digit growth in revenue year over year, since its launch. 

- Ends -

About The Luxury Closet
The Luxury Closet.com is a fast growing online market platform that buys, sells, and consigns personal luxury goods, mostly pre-owned, at a discounted price. The Luxury team maintains brand and item integrity with the assurance of authenticity. TheLuxuryCloset.com is the first of its kind in the GCC region in terms of size, market reach and scalability. All items can be shipped worldwide, with cash on delivery available in the UAE.  For more information please visit www.theluxurycloset.com and find The Luxury Closet on Facebook (www.facebook.com/theluxurycloset , Twitter (@TheLuxuryCloset) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/theluxurycloset).

About Wamda Capital
Wamda Capital is the MENA region's leading venture capital firm investing in exceptional entrepreneurs building the region's most promising high growth technology businesses. We invest both at the growth and seed stages with the aim of taking portfolio companies through successive rounds of financing through to exit.  www.wamdacapital.com

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