Alibaba invests in clothes sharing platform Ycloset

Alibaba has invested an undisclosed figure in Chinese garment-sharing platform YCloset.

The site’s strategic fundraising round that secured the Alibaba funding will be used to expand its data analysis functions and physical operations centres.

The Beijing-based service allows users to rent clothes and accessories for a monthly subscription fee. It has more than 15 million registered users and provides a range of subscription plans and options to purchase garments.

YCloset CEO Liu Mengyuan said wearing fashionable clothes will “always top the agenda of almost every woman”.

“Compared with buying items in a store, clothes rental services will allow women to update their looks more frequently and wear more dresses that they could not afford to buy.”

He added that the company will cooperate with a number of e-commerce platforms including Xianyu, Taobao, Tmall and Alipay.

Alibaba Innovation Ventures was among the investors who raised $50 million for YCloset last year in a series C fundraising round.