Online retail space marketplace Storefront has received $7.3 million in Series A funding to help it expand into the Los Angeles area.
Storefront helps web retailers, designers and artists find temporary retail space to sell their products, and can assist with insurance coverage up to $5 million for retail spaces, and promotions.
The funding comes from a group of investors, led by Spark Capital, which focuses on Internet-based businesses. Spark, which counts Warby Parker, Wayfair and Twitter among its investments, will place principal Mo Koyfman on Storefront’s board of directors.
Since launching a year ago, Storefront says more than 1,000 merchants have used its services to open stores in New York City and San Francisco. In the last month, Storefront merchants have generated over $5 million in retail sales, the company says. Storefront customers include brands such as Google and Nike, artists such as Kanye West, and retailers such as men’s custom suit e-retailer Indochino.
“One of the biggest challenges for merchants today is finding prime retail space to sell their products,” says Erik Eliason, co-founder and CEO of Storefront. “We streamline the search, payment and insurance, which makes opening an offline store as easy as an online one.”
The types of spaces listed range from “trendy showroom spaces to boutique neighborhood shops to booths at street fairs,” Storefront says. The company currently lists more than 4 million square feet of space on Storefront.com.
“Storefront makes it easy for any brand, business or artisan to find a space to showcase and sell their wares without any of the burdensome, expensive and long-term commitments of the typical lease,” Koyfman says. “Storefront also helps property owners maintain freshness and flexibility with their spaces while providing higher yields.”
Other investors in the Series A round include Mohr Davidow Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, 500 Startups and Box Group, all investors in Storefront’s $1.6 million seed round. New investors in the latest round include SV Angel, Gary Vaynerchuk, Nas, Tom Glocer, Vikram Pandit and Troy Carter.
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