Etsy is set to acquire British second-hand clothing app, Depop, for $1.625bn, in order to target younger Gen-Z shoppers.
The deal is expected to complete later this year, after which time Depop will continue to be headquartered in London and operate as a standalone marketplace run by its existing leadership team.
Founded in 2011, Depop is a community-powered marketplace to buy and sell unique fashion. The company’s 2020 gross merchandise sales and revenue were approximately $650 million and $70 million, respectively, each increasing over 100 per cent year-over-year. Depop’s GMS grew at a compounded annual growth rate of nearly 80 per cent from 2017-2020.
Approximately 90 per cent of Depop’s active users are under the age of 26; and young consumers are adopting second-hand fashion faster than any other audience, according to Etsy.
Depop is also the 10th most visited shopping site among Gen Z consumers in the US, the company says.
The platform has approximately 30 million registered users across nearly 150 countries, with 4 million active sellers and 2 million active sellers in 2020.
Josh Silverman, Etsy, Inc. CEO, said: “We are simply thrilled to be adding Depop—what we believe to be the resale home for Gen Z consumers—to the Etsy family. Depop is a vibrant, two-sided marketplace with a passionate community, a highly differentiated offering of unique items, and we believe significant potential to further scale.
“We see significant opportunities for shared expertise and growth synergies across what will now be a tremendous ‘house of brands’ portfolio of individually distinct, and very special, eCommerce brands.”
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