Alibaba invests in clothes sharing platform Ycloset

Chinese garment sharing platform YCloset has completed an undisclosed strategic fundraising round from e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding to better cater to beauty and fashion requirements of female customers.

The new funds will be utilised to expand the company’s algorithm system and build more warehouses and cleaning operation centres.

Beijing-based YCloset will further cooperate with Alibaba’s flea market platform Xianyu, e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall, Alipay payments and other relevant platforms, a Chinese official newspaper quoted CEO Liu Mengyuan as saying.

Clothes rental services will allow women to update their looks more frequently and wear more dresses that they could not afford to buy, Liu said.

Founded in 2015, YCloset charges subscription fees, allowing users to rent clothes and accessories. It claims to have more than 15 million registered users.

Last year, the company received $50 million in a series C fundraising round led by Alibaba Innovation Ventures, Softbank China and Sequoia China.