Thriftify, which acts as an online retailer for 98% of Ireland’s charity shops, plans to expand its workforce with 20 new hires planned across the tech, e-commerce and sales and marketing sides of the business.
As well as their expansion plans, Thriftify has just received a huge financial boost having just signed a €1.6m investment deal, led by the very first HBAN Impact Syndicate, with participation from Themvar VC and leading angel investors, such as Ben Lewis, ex CEO of River Island, who are backing the circular economy and preloved clothing industry.
This investment comes off the back of ongoing UK growth for Thriftify, and major enhancements in its technology, which is now able to automatically value charity shop donations, list them on dozens of marketplaces online, and handle the entire end-to-end e-commerce journey, including customer care and fulfilment.
The twenty new jobs announced for Thriftify will be across all departments, but primarily in sales and marketing, as the social enterprise focuses on building its online presence and taking more sales away from fast fashion and into the used, sustainable fashion space. Thriftify has grown approximately 300% each year since launching in 2018 and is also investing in continued expansion across Britain.
Thriftify CEO Rónán Ó ’Dálaigh launched the company in 2018, having spotted an opportunity to sell second-hand books online and wanted to find a way to enable charity shops to sell their donations online.
Celebrating the closing of the investment, Thriftify CEO Rónán Ó Dálaigh highlighted the company’s mission-driven ethos: “Investment in impact driven companies is hard to come by, so this investment is a major boost not only to us, but to all entrepreneurs and companies whose priority is a sustainable, impactful future. As a team, we’re absolutely thrilled to have the resources we need to fundamentally change the fashion industry.
“We’ve been boot-strapped and lean for a long time and while we’ll still stay true to that, we’re going to invest in some remarkable new hires and areas that we know are going to generate a major impact, so overall it’s definitely the most exciting period in our journey so far.
“The challenge we all face is changing how and why we do business, because from a climate perspective, our economic model is completely broken. Growth for growth’s sake has destroyed large parts of our planet and made us unhappier as a society. Seeing those with major capital come on board with our radical vision of disrupting one of the largest culprits, the fashion industry, gives me huge hope and optimism.”
Commenting on their investment, Yvan Gouttebelle, from HBAN said: “The HBAN Impact syndicate is delighted to support Thriftify’s innovative sustainable business model and future growth. We look forward to helping the company scale and succeed. I see a tremendous ability in Rónán and the team, who are able to break the boundaries of second-hand online marketplaces while supporting charitable organisations. HBAN’s investment in Thriftify is a clear sign that Irish business angels are dedicated to solving sustainable development goals for the Irish economy and beyond. While this is a strong start, more angel impact investing is needed.”
Commenting on their investment, Johnny Cosgrove, from Themvar said: “Themvar Holdings through its subsidiary Themvar Eight, is delighted to announce its investment in Thriftify. The Thriftify vision, strategy, and team, led by CEO Rónán Ó Dálaigh, really impressed us and we are excited and confident in the Company’s ability to brilliantly execute its plan. We look forward to a long and rewarding partnership”.
Thriftify are hoping this investment will help to make buying preloved items an easier experience for consumers as well as being good news for charity shops who want to increase sales with an online presence.
Having brought on board almost all of Ireland’s charity retailers, the Thriftify website is aiming to have all the registered charity retailers in Britain selling on the site by the end of 2023.
Thriftify has offices in both Dublin and London and currently employs 30 people full-time across Ireland, Britain, Moldova, India, Pakistan and Spain.
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