Chrono24 receives €1 million investment from LVMH's Arnault family

Chrono24, a marketplace for buying and selling luxury watches, announced that it had received a 100 million euro capital increase from the Arnault family of LVMH. This was led by General Atlantic, which also involved Aglaé Ventures. With this latest round of funding, Chrono24's total funding, combined with previous funding, has now exceeded 200 million euros*. (As of August 2021)

Total funding reaches 2 million euros, accelerating growth trajectory

　Chrono24 (headquarters: Karlsruhe, Germany), a world-leading online marketplace offering a comprehensive lineup of luxury watches, from new to vintage, has announced that it has secured 100 million euros (approximately 12.976 billion yen*) in Series C funding.

　The round was led by General Atlantic, a major global investment firm with headquarters in the United States, with participation from Aglaé Ventures, a French investment firm backed by Aglaé, the holding company of the Arnault family and the controlling shareholder of LVMH.

　Existing investors Insight Partners and Sprints Capital also participated in this round. With this capital increase, Chronos24 has secured a total of more than 200 million euros (approximately 25.952 billion yen).

　Chrono24 plans to use this funding to accelerate its growth trajectory by continuing to expand its international operations, strengthening its presence in existing markets, and recruiting talented individuals to strengthen its global team. Already a market leader in over 100 countries, Chrono24 seeks to further capitalize on the thriving pre-owned luxury watch market and attract a new generation of collectors.

　Since its founding in 2003, Chrono24 has digitized the luxury watch industry, which was previously dominated by offline technologies, and has connected watch retailers and collectors around the world through its online marketplace. At the same time, it has played a role in connecting watch retailers and collectors on a global scale. Currently, an average of 500,000 people visit the site each day, and the site is run by more than 3000 dealers and 30,000 private sellers from over 100 countries, with approximately 5 million watches available for sale on Chrono24 at any given time.

　"Since its founding in 2003, Karlsruhe-based Chrono24 has been a global pioneer in building a cross-border online marketplace for luxury watches thanks to its innovative, transparent and sustainable business model," said Jorn Nicolai, Managing Director of General Atlantic's Germany division. "We are pleased to support Chrono24's continued global expansion with our capital and expertise."

　Tim Stracke, founder and co-CEO of Chrono24, added: "Chrono24 is pleased to have partners like General Atlantic and Aglaé Ventures, who have extensive growth experience, join us. As the originators of the digital marketplace concept in the luxury watch industry, we have built a platform that supports and promotes constantly changing consumer behavior. We believe we have brought various innovations to an industry that has traditionally avoided disruptive innovations. We are extremely pleased that General Atlantic and Aglaé Ventures have recognized our potential and our role in this industry."

　Chrono24 will continue to be run by its current three-person team: Tim Stracke, co-CEO Holger Fölkner (formerly CEO of TeamViewer), and CFO Stefan Kniewasser. Current shareholders, including Fölkner and Kniewasser, are also contributing capital along with a group of new investors.

　This capital raise follows Chrono24's €43 million Series B in 2019, led by Sprints Capital, former Richemont executive Gianni Serazzi, and YOOX-NET-A-PORTER founder Alberto Grignolo, as well as a €37 million Series A from Insight Partners in 2015.