Fancy Hits 1 million Users

Sites include pinterest.com , thefancy.com . Published on June 18th, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

Meet ‘Fancy’, the online catalog website that is looking to knock Pinterest off its perch through the offerings of high-end products. Launched back in February of 2012 (yes, this year), the site has seen a massive take up and boast over 1 million members.

Fancy is of course a rather European term for liking things and the site has amassed a huge following among men; unlike its competitor, Pinterest which is largely dominated by female. The male female ratio on Fancy is presently 55/45% and by all accounts they love to fancy stuff and spend money. The site is presently doing $50,000 in commerce weekly and now has over 2,000 merchants under its wings.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that launching a social site and having it be a wild success is easy when you see how well new sites like Fancy get on. The workings under the hood are what make them tick though and Fancy has some pedigree behind it. Its biggest backer is PPR, the French conglomerate that owns high-end fashion brands Gucci and Bottega Veneta. And oh, we mustn’t forget to mention that Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sits on its board. There are also a slew of other big name VCs in the mix including Ester Dyson and owner of the Boston Celtics, Jim Pallotta.

Having New York roots hasn’t held ‘Fancy’ back and at the present growth rate, it should have 2 million members by the summer. Watch out Pinterest!