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“The #1 platform for remote sales team” |
Founded: 2016, San Francisco, CA, USA
Category: : Ecommerce Marketplace Primary office: San Francisco, USA Core technical team: : San Francisco, USA Status: Private Employees: 150 Amount raised: USD$265.95 million (7 rounds – October 2019) |
OVERVIEW
PERFORMANCE METRICS
ACHIEVEMENTS
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Sells
- Makers: Faire’s platform enables makers to sell to local retailers in the USA and Canada. A maker pays a 25% commission on first orders from any buyer, 15% commission on reorders from the same buyer, and an optional 3% fee for immediate payment (as opposed to waiting 30 days for invoice settlement).
- Retailers: Faire’s platform enables retailers to purchase products from new makers and return them to Faire if they do not sell free of charge
Channels
- Free services to local retailers
- Weekly recommendations of the products that Faire thinks can sell particularly well at the retailer’s location
- 60 days to try new inventory, if it does not work, they can send it back to Faire and swap it out for new items that will sell
- Search feature to find products that are not available on Amazon
- Financial calculator tool that helps small businesses figure out how long they can stay in business using revenue forecasts and costs such as rent and payroll
- Social media – Actively promotes Faire’s platform on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms
- Blogs – CEO/co-founder writes blogs
Competencies
- AI/ML. Uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to match local retailers with goods that are predicted to sell well in their specific locations for the purpose of sourcing and managing inventory as efficiently as possible
- Glocal. Faire believes that local is the future – consumers will buy from local retailers
- Customer support. Faire continuously improves the support it provides retailers and makers seeking to make its customer and supplier support world class
Distinct AI Features
Type
- Develops algorithms to improve product recommendations, ranking, search, logistics, and more.
AI use
- Uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to match local retailers with goods that are predicted to sell well in their specific locations for the purpose of sourcing and managing inventory as efficiently as possible
- Developed its own AI-powered image recognition software to automatically surface new products to stores that match the aesthetic and category of their website and Instagram. Faire can take a database of hundreds of thousands of products and automatically show a retailer the subset that matches the store most perfectly, saving them countless hours traveling to trade shows or wading through paper product catalogs
Rate of return on customer’s investment to make AI work
Immediate:
- Local retailers.
- Find new products that are guaranteed to sell in their stores
- Save time and money when selecting new products to carry by using Faire’s AI-powered image recognition software
- Makers and local retailers.
- Faire’s predictive analytics recommends the products that will sell best
- Makers.
- Faire’s buy-back program enables makers to buyback the goods that local retailers return instead of distributing them. For example, a maker sells $100 of goods to Faire and Faire sells these goods to a retailer for $200. The make receives $100 minus the commission fee (15-28% commission fee, based on how quickly they requested payment and whether this was a new store for them). If the retailer returns the goods and the makers opts into the buyback program, those goods will be delivered to the maker not Faire. The maker will buy the goods at 70% of the original order (representing a 30% discount off the $100 wholesale price).
Long term:
- Makers and local retailers.
- Faire’s AI applications may be able to help compete against Amazon and large chains
Databases
- Unique database comprised of information on wholesaler-Faire and Faire-retailer transactions.
Quantum Computing
- Data security is very important. Faire has a trust, safety, and security team to ensure that private data is protected and not misused.
Resources
Assets
- Resellers platform that enables Faire to sell to local retailers and purchase from makers
- AI-powered image recognition software
- Image as an innovator that attained objectives that a publicly listed company like Etsy (etsy.com) failed to accomplish
- Relationships with thousands of local retailers and makers in north America
- Buy-back program available to makers
Processes
- Process to onboard makers into platform
- Process to onboard local retailers into platform
- Process for local retailers to select the new items to purchase
- Process to streamline transactions
Priorities
- Continuously improves Faire’s value propositions to local retailers and makers
- Improve operational costs for small business owners while improving their sales and profitability
- Balance between number of makers and local retailers on the platform. To maintain a healthy ratio of makers and retailers, Faire adds new makers based on retailer demand
References
- Azevedo, M.A. 2018. Wholesale Marketplace Faire Secures $100M At $535M Valuation. Crunchbase News. December 14.
- https://news.crunchbase.com/news/wholesale-marketplace-faire-secures-100m-at-535m-valuation/
- Barker, L. 2019. What is Faire? – Formerly Indigo Fair. https://www.luckybreakconsulting.com/what-is-faire-formerly-indigo-fair/
- Barker, L. 2019. The disadvantages of Faire. https://www.luckybreakconsulting.com/the-disadvantages-of-faire/
- Barker, L. 2019. The Inevitable Downside of Faire. https://www.luckybreakconsulting.com/the-inevitable-downside-of-faire/
- Barker, L. 2019. Review of Faire – The Wholesale Marketplace Platform https://www.luckybreakconsulting.com/review-of-faire-the-wholesale-marketplace-platform/
- Barker, L. 2019. An Interview with Max Rhodes, CEO of Faire. https://www.luckybreakconsulting.com/an-interview-with-max-rhodes-ceo-of-faire/
- Crunchbase 2020. Faire Wholesale, Inc. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/indigo-fair
- Danziger, P.N. 2019. Main Street Retailers Have A New Weapon This Holiday Season: Faire. Forbes, November 3.
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2019/11/03/main-street-retailers-have-a-new-competitive-weapon-this-holiday-called-faire/#29ea449928ea
- Debter, L. 2019. Faire, A Wholesale Marketplace, Notches $1 Billion Valuation. Forbes. October 30. https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2019/10/30/faire-wholesale-marketplace-series-d-1-billion-valuation/#32d38d187aa9
- Debter, L. 2020. A High-Flying Unicorn Bet Its Business On Local Shops. Now It’s Trying To Help Them Survive. Forbes. March 27.
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2020/03/26/faire-small-businesses-coronavirus/#13f547dc17c2
- Rhodes, M. 2018. The Story of Faire. Medium. December 13.https://medium.com/faire/the-story-of-faire-465d3d4c161f
- Rhodes, M. 2017. Betting Big on Local Retail Introducing Indigo Fair: the First Wholesale Marketplace to Offer Guaranteed Sales to Retailers, March 7. https://medium.com/faire/betting-big-on-local-retail-1aa9706c4e04
- Sawers, P. 2019. Wholesale marketplace Faire raises $150 million at a $1 billion valuation. VentureBeat. October 30.
- https://venturebeat.com/2019/10/30/wholesale-marketplace-faire-raises-150-million-at-a-1-billion-valuation/
Contributors
- Tony Bailetti