Brandback secures 7.4 million US dollars

Berlin-based startup Brandback, which is developing an embeddable infrastructure for second-hand sales (embedded resale), has raised a total of 7.4 million US dollars in its pre-seed and seed financing round. The round was led by Earlybird VC, with participation from existing investor 9900 Capital and personalities from the retail world. These include members of the Benetton and Henkel entrepreneurial families, a Printemps supervisory board member, former executives from Adidas, Hugo Boss and Puma, as well as a board member from Meta.

Resale as a sales driver for retailers

Brandback's technology enables brands to integrate the resale of their products directly into the online store, for example by displaying a future resale value at checkout or through incentives such as store credits. This not only increases the conversion rate, but also significantly increases customer lifetime value.

We turn every purchase into a tradable asset - for customers and retailers

Chris Kilin, CEO and co-founder of Brandback

Sustainable consumption, new revenue models

Generation Z in particular is driving resale growth massively: according to studies, up to 48% of this target group prefers second-hand to new goods. The reasons for this include sustainability, individuality and cost savings. Since 2020, the online resale market for fashion has doubled every two years (CAGR: 43.4%).

Brandback is responding to this trend with an AI-supported solution that can be integrated quickly, is scalable and can be used without upfront costs. The company handles all operational processes, from customer service to shipping and payouts. The startup thus also enables large brands to enter the recommerce market without additional expense.

From Replay to Sandqvist

A growing number of global brands are already using Brandback, including Replay Jeans and Sandqvist.

Brandback helps us to combine customer loyalty, sustainability and profitability

Caroline Lind, Sandqvist CEO

With the fresh capital, Brandback plans to expand its go-to-market and engineering teams, further develop its AI capabilities and acquire new retail partners in Europe and the US.

Recommerce is a huge market, but too operationally complex for many brands. Brandback offers an elegant solution with a true plug-and-play mentality. A strong team, a strong product - we look forward to the journey together.

Tim Rehder, General Partner at Earlybird.

In retail, the handling of returns and the additional costs incurred are particularly important. Returns not only have to be checked, repacked and stored, but also require a lot of manual handling. It will be exciting to see how Brandback tackles these market challenges.