Minitrade.ca, a Quebec City-based online clothing consignment service, has announced a seed round of $650,000 from several investors.Ā The startup offers busy parents the opportunity to purge their cluttered closets and purchase new and pre-loved top quality clothing brands at 70 percent off the retail price. In the last year it grew its customer base to 6,000 active Canadian members.
With a professional background in fashion, Minitrade.ca founder Isabelle Doucet created the site in 2012 through her own need, recognizing of a gap in the marketplace through personal experience. “Prior to having children, I would have scoffed at the idea of purchasing previously worn items for my children,” said Doucet. “But once I experienced the frustration of investing in my children’s wardrobe and having expensive items outgrown while still in absolutely pristine condition, I knew there was a better way to dress my childrenā¦while having it make more sense financially.”
Statistics show that Canadian families are spending a reported total of $800 million annually on children’s clothing, yet much of the clothing is only worn once. This is especially true in the baby and toddler years. If a piece is only worn once and stores away, it diminishes in value and style.
According to Minitrade.ca, while Canadians still enjoy shopping at brick-and-mortar establishments, āthe increasing growth of online shopping and newly-established e-commerce retail extensions indicates consumers are looking to shop more conveniently, to suit their busy lifestyles and seek out the most competitive pricing.ā
Minitrade.ca believes that if Canadians are spending $15.3 billion shopping online, with 83 per cent of those shoppers placing orders with businesses located in Canada, then it can take a piece of the pie.
Armed with a modest investment of $650,000, the ecommerce site should be able to boost its momentum. Investors included Ferst Capital, FIER FSRĀ (Fond de Soutient Rive sud),Ā Pierre DelagraveĀ of Cossette Communications,Ā Martin AubutĀ of L’OrĆ©al Canada,Ā Maxime Lemieux andĀ Malik YacoubiĀ of Cossette Communications. Also included were two members of Montrealās āmafiaā of active entrepreneur-investors, in Martin-Luc ArchambaultĀ of Wajam andĀ Daniel RobichaudĀ of Password Box.
The startup was also recently recognized by the Canada Post E-Commece Innovation Awards, where it picked up the āBest e-Tailerā and the āMost Innovative Retailerā.
With a quickly-growing community across Canada actively trading, buying and selling brand new and pre-loved items from conventional and designer brands, Minitrade.ca “helps meet price-and eco-conscious Canadian parents’ needs for children’s clothing without sacrificing style or quality.”