Poshmark, a US second-hand fashion marketplace, has purchased Suede One, a sneaker authentication platform, for an undisclosed amount. This is Poshmark’s first acquisition. It continues its rise as a major player in the burgeoning online resale marketplace.
Poshmark founder Manish Chandra, CEO, stated that they are focused on strategic investments that will fuel our business’ continued growth, provide the best experience for buyers, and make our marketplace the most trusted destination for sellers.
Poshmark stated that Suede One’s virtual authentication capabilities would complement its Posh Protect and Posh Authenticate features.
The company stated that the acquisition will enable it to scale and enhance its services to help buyers and sellers in more transactions. It also plans to offer virtual authentication for sneakers at different price points.
The company stated that there are also plans to expand the program to other categories in the future.
Poshmark snaps up Suede One
The market for limited-edition, sought-after sneakers has boomed over recent years. However, fashion fakes have been a problem for global resale platforms.
Suede One is one company that has been working to solve this problem. It combines machine learning and computer vision with expert human review to authenticate sneakers.
According to the company, for sneakers such as Jordan 1s or Yeezy 350s, its technology can authenticate most submissions with greater accuracy than 99 percent based on internal testing.
It uses other sneakers to submit the information with the help of its proprietary authenticator tool.
Matt Forloine, CEO of Suede One, stated that the company was created to address a major problem for resellers – creating technology that protects them against fraud and provides fast, accurate authentication they can trust.
“Poshmark and Suede One share similar values, trust, and focus on community. By joining forces, we can advance our technology and scale this service to more categories and benefit as many people possible.”
