Faire, the wholesale marketplace partially owned by Shopify, opened its wholesale marketplace to business-user buyers, which include businesses like hotels, medical practices, and event planners buying wholesale products for their own operations rather than for resale.
Since launching in 2017, Faire has catered to retailers, who purchase items wholesale to resell in their own stores. However, the company says that there's been “a large, underserved segment of wholesale demand” from these business-use buyers that it's now aiming to cater to.
Faire co-founder and CEO Max Rhodes wrote:
“Businesses come to Faire looking for something that helps them stand out, products that create a feeling and reflect their creative vision. Opening the platform to these buyers is a step toward a future where more businesses, whether stocking their shelves, designing a space, or bringing a menu to life, can easily discover distinct products to build thoughtful, curated experiences for the people they serve.”
The platform aims to serve business-use buyers like:
- Boutique hotels stocking rooms with candles, robes, and minibar goods.
- Restaurants, cafes, and bars sourcing specialty sauces, pantry staples, glassware, and table linens.
- Wellness, fitness, and medical practices stocking skincare, towels, and items for treatment rooms.
- Offices and corporate buyers building client gift boxes, employee welcome kits, or stocking snacks and coffee.
- Event planners and entertainment spaces purchasing decor, party favors, paper goods, and supplies in bulk for weddings and corporate events.
Faire says that many of its brands are already serving business-use buyers, but have to do so through cumbersome outside workflows, whereas now, they can capture that demand on Faire's platform, which is already integrated with the rest of their tech stack.
Brands are not required to sell to business-use customers, but if they do, the buyers are clearly labeled and must meet the same brand minimums, and brand owners still maintain approval over every order.
I think it's a brilliant move! Why let Amazon and Walmart have all the B2B fun? Chances are, Faire brands are selling on those B2B platforms anyway, and now this gives Faire the ability to take a piece of that market leveraging their existing seller base.
