Ghost Scares Up $30 Million to Solve Retail’s Biggest Problem
Ghost, an online B2B marketplace for surplus inventory, closed a $30 million Series B funding round, it announced Monday.
The Los Angeles startup, which came out of the gate with a $20 million Series A in July last year, has raised $68 million to date. Ghost plans to use the latest cash influx to hire for “several” positions in product, engineering and design, “while developing its platform further to meet rising demand,” it said.
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Venture capital firm Cathay Innovation led the financing round, with partner Simon Wu joining Ghost’s board. Existing investors Union Square Ventures, Equal Ventures and Eniac Ventures also participated.
“With Cathay Innovation, we’ve gained a partner with an extensive understanding of the retail industry along with invaluable connections to a global consumer ecosystem that will help Ghost reach brands across the US, Europe and Asia,” co-CEO Dee Murthy said in a statement. “We look forward to working with them as we expand, grow and take Ghost to the next level.”
Launched in 2021, Ghost offers a members-only marketplace where brands can sell their surplus inventory to off-price retailers and other sample sale operators and buyers. In the past year, the company has experienced a 500 percent increase in uploaded inventory. During the same time, the gross merchandise value (GMV) run rate grew 10 times and the number of employees on staff doubled. Today, the platform is home to more than 1,000 members, including brands and retailers in apparel, footwear, beauty and home goods.
“Ghost has found a way to fundamentally change the industry and unlock billions for both buyers and sellers by focusing on access,” Wu said in a statement. “By allowing sellers to stop being ‘price takers’ and generate superior recovery rates while simultaneously granting buyers access to premium, highly sought-after inventory previously unattainable, Ghost grows the pie and creates win-win solutions for all parties.”
Murthy and fellow co-founder Josh Kaplan experienced the challenge of inventory management first-hand at Five Four Group. Co-founded by Murthy, the holding company’s brands include Five Four, Young & Reckless and New Republic, as well as the subscription service Menlo Club and e-commerce site Menlo House. When tens of millions of dollars of inventory arrived late due to pandemic-era port delays, Kaplan and Murthy struggled to offload excess product and developed Ghost as the solution.
“We are leveraging data science and technology to solve a problem that has previously been addressed with phone calls and fax machines,” Kaplan said in a statement. “Our alpha is the ability to predict everything from market pricing to sell-through, which is extremely powerful information for our customers. Through our team’s deep expertise in the retail sector, Ghost has gained the trust of global brands across fashion, beauty, footwear, home goods and more.”
