Trouva, a London-based online marketplace focused on showcasing independent boutiques and brands focused on homewares, fashion and lifestyle, has been acquired by Cambridge-based startup Re:store from its previous owner, the clothing brand Next. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In its press release, Trouva states that Re:store’s goal with the acquisition is to help bridge the gap between online and offline for independent retailers.
Re:store was founded in 2020 by Jon Reynolds (previously CEO and co-founder of SwiftKey) and Siling Tan with the goal of enabling human connection online through a personalized shopping experience.
Launched in 2015, Trouva counts over 650 featured retailers hailing from across Europe and reports shipping to 38 countries over the course of 2022.
The acquisition of Trouva is a pivotal moment for Re:store as it plans to integrate its social commerce technology into the marketplace used by more than 650 independent retailers. The integration will drive personalized customer experiences between retailers and their customer base via Trouva.
It was only in May 2022 that Trouva was acquired by online furniture brand Made to “efficiently scale its curated marketplace offering.” Unfortunately, Made faced a difficult second half of last year, ultimately resulting in the business entering administration in November. The remaining assets of Made were purchased by the clothing brand Next, which spent £3m on the intellectual property of the collapsed firm, including Trouva.
Before the Made acquisition, Trouva had received $41.1 million over the course of five rounds of funding from investors, including Octopus Ventures, Downing Ventures, C4 Ventures, LocalGlobe, Index Ventures and Playfair Capital. Total cash flow for acquisition costs and capital expenditure is now estimated at £13 million to £18 million in 2022, compared to previous guidance of £15 million to £20 million. ”The acquisition will be fully funded by cash and is expected to deliver a strong return on capital,” Re:Store said.
Trouva was recently ranked among the 50 fastest-growing companies in Europe (2020 FT 1000) and named “Best Retailer Under £250M” by Retail Week.
