BCG joins Facebook co-founder with investment in retail startup
BCG has participated in a large funding round for B2B startup Inturn, to the tune of $22.5 million in Series B financing. The funding will support the scaling of the startup, which is focused on connecting brands and retailers seeking to deal with excess goods. The startup is initially tapping into the $250 billion fashion and apparel sector, in which the old procedure tends to be cumbersome.
Inturn is an online platform that aims to improve the way in which the excess goods / end of season sales market for retailers is organised. The startup firm aims to protect brands’ integrity, by, among others, “connecting buyers and sellers in private online showrooms, and only after a mutual opt-in process’”. The process, among others, leverages various automation tools to streamline the connection of buyers and sellers, with mutual benefits including giving retailers a chance to access key inventory, while brands are able to identify ideal retailers more quickly.
The company founders and management team are retail industry veterans, whose first focus is the $250 billion fashion and apparel sector. The startup, which was founded in 2013, supports around $500 million in product listings.
The Boston Consulting Group recently announced that the firm, together with its investment arm BCG Digital Ventures and B Capital, is offering a broad range of support to Inturn, including financial support. As part of the partnership, BCG and B Capital – a startup focused investment firm founded by Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin and Raj Ganguly – are pumping a reported $22.5 million Series B financing into Inturn, as well as offering support to the fast growing startup through a range of secondary mechanisms.
The new trench of investment boosts total funding to the firm to $36 million since its founding, with a broad range of funders, including Beanstalk Ventures and Novel TMT Ventures, backing the firm.
Ganguly, Co-Founder and Partner of B Capital, “It’s incredible to watch buyers and sellers thoughtfully improve their businesses using Inturn’s platform and it is rare to find a company transforming an industry at the scale and adoption rate that Inturn is across both large and small businesses. Inturn is proving to be essential to retail success – we’re very excited to partner with Inturn to further geographic expansion across all retail categories.”
Ronen Lazar, Co-Founder and CEO of Inturn said, “B Capital and its partners The Boston Consulting Group bring deep retail technology expertise and the widest global network, which is already accelerating our expansion. This is a strong signal to the entire industry that innovation to the management and monetisation of inventory is critical in this evolving market.”
