Dubai-based luxury resale marketplace The Luxury Closet has raised investment from Huda Beauty Investments, the private investment office of Huda, Alya & Mona Kattan & Christopher Goncalo, the founders of one of the leading global cosmetics brands Huda Beauty. The partnership will focus on developing The Luxury Closet’s equity and expediting growth across markets. 

HB Investments was launched in 2017. It invests in early-stage businesses and helps the founders by building their brands and expanding reach. It has made investments prior to The Luxury Closet, but it appears to have been quiet about them.

The investment amount it made to The Luxury Closet is undisclosed. However, a statement from HB Investment clarifies that it is part of an ongoing $11 million round in which Dubai-based MEVP (Middle East Venture Partners) is a co-investor. MEVP is one of the early backers of The Luxury Closet.

Kunal Kapoor founded The Luxury Closet in 2012. It is an ecommerce marketplace for pre-owned luxury goods including watches, handbags, clothing, shoes, and accessories. The platform focuses on the resale of ‘perfect condition’ items from high-end brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Rolex from sellers across the Middle East. In a statement, the startup said that it has listed 80,000 items worth $120 million from 5,000 sellers.

The Luxury Closet, according to the statement, has raised $18 million in total financing to date. It had closed an $11 million growth round in May last year. In 2015, it had raised $2.2 million in a Series A round. The e-commerce startup last year had also acquired Guiltless, a Hong Kong-based e-commerce platform for the resale of luxury products. The statement said that 60% of The Luxury Closet’s revenue comes from the Middle East & North Africa – and the other 40% from markets in Asia and the United States.

The strategic partnership with Huda Beauty Investments is a big milestone for The Luxury Closet. The founders of Huda Beauty can help the company with brand development using their massive reach on social media. The partnership will “harness the combined understanding of consumer behavior in fashion and beauty and to drive brand awareness and increase the adoption of resale,” said the statement. Huda Beauty has close to 50 million followers on Instagram, making it among the most followed accounts on the platform. Altogether, Huda, Mona & Alya have over 6 million followers on their personal Instagram accounts as well.

Kunal Kapoor, the co-founder and CEO of The Luxury Closet, stated, “Given the economic situation, people are increasingly valuing circular businesses as they are an affordable and sustainable way to refresh their wardrobes. This has expedited The Luxury Closet’s growth across market cycles. HBI’s investment in The Luxury Closet is excellent news for our company. The partnership will help us bring the concept to a whole new audience.”

Huda Kattan, Chairperson of HB Investments and founder of Huda Beauty, said, “We are excited to partner with The Luxury Closet. Sustainability is one of our primary focuses and a core tenant for the HBI portfolio. In our continued effort to champion responsible and eco-friendly businesses, we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about our partnership with The Luxury Closet.”