Bezar was a curated online design marketplace founded in 2015 by former Fab co-founder Bradford Shellhammer (CEO), Matt Baer (COO), PieterJan Mattan (Creative Director), and Justin Chen (CFO).[1][2] The site featured unique pieces from both emerging designers and established brands in four categories: home, accessories, jewelry, and art.[3] The company was headquartered in SoHo, Manhattan.
The name “Bezar” comes from a combination of the words bazaar and bizarre, which both are phonetically pronounced \bə-ˈzär\.[4]
History
In 2013, Bradford Shellhammer left his role as co-founder and chief design officer of ecommerce website Fab, maintaining a role as a shareholder and non-executive advisor.[5]
In early 2015, Shellhammer announced he would launch and curate his own online design marketplace. Bezar launched in March 2015, featuring four new virtual pop-up shops daily, and a range of exclusive collaborations with designers, labels and brands like FLOS [6] and Refinery29.[7] Bezar's marketplace component, featuring hundreds of permanent designer storefronts, was rolled out in September 2015.[8][9]
Funding
Before its launch, Bezar raised a total of $2.25 million in two and a half weeks from seven investment funds and 20 individuals.[10] Notable investors include designer Yves Béhar, Kenneth Lerer, Hiroshi Mikitani and Whoopi Goldberg.[11]
Acquisition
In February 2016, Bezar was acquired by online luxury goods retailer AHAlife Holdings, Ltd. (ASX:AHL)[12][13][14]
References
- ^ “At Bezar, Design Meets Retail.” The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ “Fab Cofounder Bradford Shellhammer Is Launching Design Sales Site Bezar.” Fast Company.
- ^ “Fab Cofounder Bradford Shellhammer is Launching Design Sales Site Bezar” Fast Company.
- ^ Lu, Julia (May 1, 2015). "Bezar". Surface. p. 42. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ Konrad, Alex. "Fab.com Co-Founder Departs After Pivot From Flash Sales Model". Forbes. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ “Flos for Bezar 2015 Summer Kelvin Table Lamp” Hypebeast
- ^ “An Instagram for Design Lovers, Artworks for Sale from the Refinery29 Staff and an Airstream on a Boho Mission” New York Times' T Style Magazine
- ^ “Bezar, Bradford Shellhammer’s Reimagined Fab.com, Goes Live Today.” TechCrunch.
- ^ “Bezar Launches Designer Storefronts” Fast Company
- ^ “After Fast Times at Fab.com, a Founder Starts Over Slowly.” Inc.
- ^ “Fab Co-Founder Returns with Bezar” Dezeen.
- ^ “Online Marketplace Bezar Has Been Acquired By AHAlife.” Fast Company
- ^ “AHAlife Acquires Bradford Shellhammer’s Design Marketplace Bezar” TechCrunch
- ^ “Bradford Shellhammer's Bezar acquired by online retailer AHAlife” Dezeen
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