Image credit: Wallapop
Barcelona-based Wallapop, a hyper-local virtual marketplace for buying and selling secondhand goods, has raised €157M in its Series G round of funding. With this financing, the company now valued at €690M.
Investors in this round
The round was led by Korelya Capital, a late-stage investment fund based in Paris, with the backing of Naver, the leading Internet company in Korea.
In addition, the round also saw participation from investors including Accel, Insight Venture Partners, 14W, GP Bullhound, and Northzone.
About Wallapop
The company was founded in 2013 by Agustin Gomez, Gerard Olive, and Miguel Vicente. Wallapop is a hyper-local virtual marketplace for buying and selling secondhand goods.
By connecting buyers and sellers, Wallapop wants to encourage more responsible consumption because it can extend the life of the products as well as avoid their overproduction. The platform is present in all categories of consumer goods and, in addition, claims to have set a benchmark in more specific categories such as the motor industry.
According to the company, its geolocation technology connects a community of 15 million users in Spain, enabling them to buy and sell objects that they no longer use. On the platform, with more than 180 million items, users can find items at more affordable prices, while extending their functional life.
New service launched during the pandemic
In 2020, Wallapop launched a home collection service called Envios, by collaborating with a logistics company SEUR, due to the COVID-19 lockdown restriction. This allowed users to sell their second-hand products without leaving home.
And with this service, despite having to pause its operations during the COVID-19 lockdown, the platform experienced a 50 per cent increase in its activity. The company witnessed revenue growth of more than 50 per cent in 2020.
Furthermore, in 2020, the company saw a 240 per cent increase in revenue from Wallapop Shipping on Black Friday and received a total of 17 million visitors during the month of November.
Use of the raised capital
This investment round will allow Wallapop to continue expanding its presence in the Spanish market. The company’s plan for 2021 is to improve its user experience (making it easier than ever to buy and sell second-hand items), evolve in its e-commerce experience through Wallapop Envíos, and continue designing products and services for small businesses and entrepreneurs on its platform.
Wallapop collaborates with NAVER
The company is also collaborating with NAVER – Korea’s leading Internet company. With this partnership, the Spanish company aims to boost its innovation capacity using NAVER’s technology.
This development for Wallapop comes at a time when the Korean tech giant is showing its interest in the European startup ecosystem.
