Llustre
E-commerce business that designs and sells designer products and collections for homes.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
N/A | Angel | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Llustre, a London-based online retailer, was established in 2011 by co-founders Tracy Doree and Vivienne Bearman. The company specialized in flash sales of designer housewares and home improvement products, curating several online sales events each week for its members. The business model combined e-commerce with elements of social discovery and editorial content, offering members exclusive access to limited-edition pieces at members-only prices. The platform's appeal grew rapidly, and within five weeks of its transactional launch, membership and orders had tripled.
Tracy Doree, who served as CEO, brought a strong financial and investment background to the venture, having started her career at NM Rothschild and Accenture before moving into venture capital at MMC Ventures. This experience in investing in early-stage companies provided her with a deep understanding of scaling a business, a critical asset for Llustre's rapid growth trajectory. The concept for Llustre was developed in June 2011, and the company quickly secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding from investors, including Hoxton Ventures and Musha Ventures, later that year.
The company's swift success attracted significant attention, leading to its acquisition by the fast-growing U.S.-based flash sales site Fab.com in June 2012, merely ten weeks after Llustre's website began trading. This deal was noted as one of the fastest of its kind in UK history. The acquisition marked Fab.com's entry into the UK market, with Llustre relaunching as Fab UK. The entire 25-person team from Llustre was retained to continue operations and drive Fab's expansion in Europe. Following the acquisition, Tracy Doree took on a leadership role within Fab.com's European team.
Keywords: Llustre, Tracy Doree, Vivienne Bearman, Fab.com acquisition, flash sales, online retailer, home decor e-commerce, designer housewares, UK startups, Hoxton Ventures, Musha Ventures, London technology, social commerce, members-only sales, home improvement products, e-commerce exit, European expansion, design retail, online marketplace, curated collections, limited edition products.