The RealReal, a six-year-old, San Francisco-based company focused on authenticated, high-end resale items for women, men, and the home, has landed $50 million in growth funding from the private equity firm Great Hill Partners.
The round, which brings the company’s total funding to $173 million, did not include previous backers; a spokeswoman for the company says Great Hill “wanted all of the investment.”
The cash infusion comes at an important juncture for The RealReal, which now employs more than 800 people and has pushed out the time by which it will turn profitable, setting its sights instead on spreading brand awareness by expanding its physical footprint.
Already, the company has opened six valuation offices in the last 18 months, including in San Francisco, New York, L.A., Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The spaces enable consignors to consult directly with valuation experts about their fine jewelry and watches.
Last month, in a sit-down with this editor in San Francisco, CEO Julie Wainwright said that The RealReal is also weighing a strategy of opening a series of brick-and-mortar stores, starting first with one New York location that a RealReal spokeswoman says is still being locked down and should be open for business in late fall or early winter this year.
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