Faire (www.faire.com) is an online wholesale marketplace that focuses on connecting independent businesses from around the world with local retailers, enabling their goods to be sold to more people. It was created in 2017 in Silicon Valley and went global in 2021, expanding into the 16 largest markets in Europe. As of 2022, it became the largest online wholesale community in the world.
Faire provides traditional mom-and-pop stores with an Amazon-like marketplace for wholesale items. It generates the majority of its revenue by charging a commission on transactions made on its platform. Its business model can be described as an “indie Amazon”.
Faire offers business owners simple tech, financial terms, data insights, and logistics solutions to support their growth. Its “try before buying” policy, with net 60 payment terms and free returns, takes the risk out of the wholesalers to level the field for local retailers and independent brands, allowing them to compete with ecommerce giants.
Faire’ total valuation soared to over $12 billion since it was founded. Its investors include Durable Capital Partners LP, D1 Capital Partners, Dragoneer Investment Group, Sequoia Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Faire has fared well during the Covid-19 pandemic seeing over 300% year-on-year growth in its overall transaction volume, and despite difficult economic conditions, it has not stopped or slowed hiring or made any layoffs and it expects to continue growing. According to its owners, it has been preparing for a market downturn and adverse economic conditions for a long time. Faire considers possible public listing in the future, but for now, it focuses on building its business.