Faire is the wholesale marketplace that indie retailers actually like using. Instead of flying to trade shows or cold-emailing distributors, small shop owners can browse thousands of brands on Faire, order inventory with net-60 payment terms, and return anything that doesn’t sell. That risk-free model has been transformative for independent retail.
Max Rhodes and three other former Square employees founded Faire in 2017. They noticed that small retailers struggled to discover new products and brands struggled to reach retail shelves without expensive sales teams. Faire sits in the middle, using data and algorithms to match retailers with products likely to sell well in their specific market.
The platform has grown fast. Faire serves over 100,000 retailers and 85,000 brands across North America, Europe, and Australia. The company reached a $12.4 billion valuation in 2022, making it one of the most valuable B2B marketplace startups in the world.
What sets Faire apart is the data advantage. Because they see what’s selling across thousands of stores, they can predict which products will perform well in specific regions or store types. Retailers get personalized recommendations, and brands get insights into market demand they’d never access on their own. The open-with-Faire program lets retailers stock new brands at zero upfront cost — if items don’t sell within 60 days, they can be returned for a full refund. It’s basically consignment at scale, powered by marketplace economics.
