Amsterdambased Otrium: A Startup Like No Other

Huge brands like ZARA, Gucci, Vans, Louis Vuitton, and others usually manufacture truckloads of products in a single go. Well, that’s not a bad thing, but the twist is all of what they manufacture isn’t sold, in fact, a major portion of it is piled up in their warehouses with no use. Thanks to startups like Amsterdambased Otrium who buy these unsold clothes from brands and sell them at reasonable rates so that every one of us gets the chance to buy branded clothes.  

Amsterdambased Otrium is an online clothing store that sells unsold and unworn clothes of renowned brands at discounted rates. This leads to two major benefits, one is for the brands who get to sell their unsold clothes which were just piling up in their warehouses. The other one is for customers who want branded clothes, but the prices are so high that most of us cannot afford them. Now, don’t you feel that this startup is pretty interesting and helpful? If you do, continue reading to know all about it. 

Otrium’s Story

Amsterdambased Otrium was launched in 2015 by two friends, Milan Daniels and Max Klinjstra. They had this idea of what happens to all the unsold and unworn inventory by huge brands especially when most brands are reluctant to sell such items to stock buyers and flash sales. The reason behind this is while selling such items to stock buyers, brands face a huge loss so they prefer keeping them in their warehouse only. But this is where the Amsterdambased Otrium came into the picture. They buy such clothes at a reasonable price and sell them to the customers at a reasonable price only. 

And as of now, this startup has grown into a Multi-National Company. It has offices in three major cities; London, New York, and Amsterdam with over 270 employees and more than 600,000 customers shopping from all over the globe. 

Otrium’s Objectives and Ideas

This Amsterdambased Otrium isn’t just a startup idea, it’s an endeavor that also helps the environment by selling those items that even their owners didn’t have the hopes of selling. And this idea of Otrium has gained immense support and achievement in the market as world-famous brands like Puma, Vans, Scotch are collaborating with it.  

Let’s now get to know the main objective and ideas behind this aura of fashion:

• Equating the number of clothes that are being manufactured with the number of clothes that are bought.

If we really look into it, it’s not actually the manufacturer’s fault that a major portion of their inventory goes untouched. In this era where fashion trends change just in a snap of the fingers, manufacturers are actually bound to create new and new designs on a recurring basis. This leads to the number of clothes being more than the number of clothes that are sold every year.

And hence, companies like Amsterdambased Otrium had to step up to be the intermediary between those plethoras of clothes piled up in some warehouses and the customers looking for branded clothes at a reasonable rate. 

• There’s no off-season for clothes

We often overlook trendy clothes just because they do not match the current season. Well, that’s not the case with Otrium. It stands firm with the idea that what brings you comfort can never be out of fashion and never get out of trend. It basically sells stuff on the basis of its quality, demand, and need, and that’s what should be the aim of a seller. 

• Helping brands focus on what’s new

As per the data, at least 10% of the manufactured stock of each brand goes unsold. But now that Otrium has taken control of all the unsold stock of most of the brands they can now focus on creating more trendy stock. 

• Battling with fashion brand’s struggles 

With the motive of having every single piece of clothing manufactured to be worn, Max and Milan are doing something extraordinary. Despite being an uncomfortable topic, Otrium has a drive toward greater sustainability as they have found that at least 1 in every 10 items aren’t sold. 

When they themselves had a sweater brand and they were stuck with piles of unsold inventory, that’s when it clicked to them that this is just us, what about brands like Puma, Adidas, and Zara? 

How Does Otrium Make Money?

There are two major ways in which Amsterdambased Otrium earns money. The first one is imposing commission on effective transactions and the other one is through the assistance of a full-time supply chain facility. 

With this, they can simply eliminate the surplus cost of shipping as all the items they purchase are being stirred in their own warehouses. They even received $8 million in their Series A round and later they raised about €24 Million in their Series B funding. They have recently started with their Amsterdambased Otrium 120m Series C. 

Amsterdambased Otrium 120m Series C Funding 

As series A and B were a massive success for Otrium when they received huge funding for it, they have now started with 120m Series C fundraising for about €102.3 million. It has planned its launch in the US and has further planned to lower the level of unsold clothing in the near future. 

Furthermore, in Amsterdambased Otrium 120m Series C, Otrium has also disclosed that it has collaborated with over 300 brands and added them to the app as well. This means customers can shop from over 300 brands from around the world at much-discounted prices. Not just that, it has more than 3 Million registered customers now and the revenue has tripled in 2020. A few of its partners include Karl Lagerfeld, ASICS, Joseph, and many more. 

It’s been almost 6 years now that Otrium has been working with the fashion industry, and all of this with the aim that every single piece of clothing that is manufactured should be worn instead of being rattled in some warehouse. 

Otrium Collaborating With Various Brands 

As mentioned above, Amsterdambased Otrium has collaborated with over 30 brands. Since the Covid-19 endemic, its growth has been reaching heights. With such expansions, it has banded with some prominent brands of the USA along with shadowing across various countries like the Netherlands, and the UK, and over 20 markets across entire Europe. Here’s a list of some most famous brands Otrium has collaborated with:

• All Saints
• Adidas
• Closed 
• Alex Chung 
• Karl Lagerfeld 
• Theory 
• Belstaff 
• Joseph 
• Alchemist 

Otrium’s Policies

There is always a set of policies and regulations that accompany it. Similarly, Amsterdambased Otrium has some too:

• All the orders that are placed within the USA from Otrium won’t be charged any shipping costs. 
• It will only take 2-3 business days for an item to be delivered to your doorstep. 
• Except for a few states including Hawaii, Alaska, and all the island states of America, Otrium is available for the entire USA with no shipping. 
• Returns at Otrium are free of cost too. 
• It has a 60 days return policy, you can return an item within 60 days and you won’t be charged anything for it along with getting a full refund for it. 
• For returning a swimmer or underwear, make sure that the tag that came along stays intact. 

With Amsterdambased Otrium, one can get access to their favorite brands without any bias and without adjusting their budget. And hence, customers no longer have to visit thrift stores while looking for their desired piece of clothing for hours. 120m series120m series120m series120m series120m series