The Fancy Eyed by Kanye West and Apple
Last Thursday, Kanye West tweeted that he was “working on the future” while at the Fancy’s headquarters in New York. The social shopping site makes it possible for users to purchase “fancied” products and gear without leaving the site.
West even name-dropped the site’s founder, Joe Einhorn, fueling speculation about a possible high-profile investment. Einhorn refuted the rumor, however, explaining that the collaboration stemmed solely from the rapper’s credentials as a creative individual and trendsetter.
“All the innovation has happened in social and mobile but not so much in e-commerce,” Einhorn told Rolling Stone. “Amazon and eBay look the same way they did 10 years ago. They’re still search-driven. This is a new way of discovering a product before you even knew you wanted to buy it.”
This marketplace aspect sets the Fancy apart from noted competitor Pinterest, and it may make the site more appealing to investors. Gucci’s parent conglomerate PPR led the site into raising a $10 million investment last fall. With a million users, the Fancy enables about $10,000 worth of purchases a day and takes a 10 percent cut.
It’s this business model that attracted not only Kanye West but also Apple CEO Tim Cook. Over the weekend, Business Insider reported that Apple was interested in acquiring the site to expand the iTunes Store’s e-commerce offerings.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes sit on the Fancy board while Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg both have started accounts.