Bezar
{{Short description|American curated online design marketplace}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Bezar.com, Bezar
| location_city = 560 Broadway, New York, NY 10012
| screenshot =
| caption =
| url = {{URL |http://www.bezar.com/ }}
| type = design, retail, e-commerce
| language = English
| area_served = United States
| launch_date = March 17, 2015
| current_status = Acquired
}}
Bezar was an American online design marketplace founded in 2015 by former Fab co-founder Bradford Shellhammer (CEO), Matt Baer (COO), PieterJan Mattan (Creative Director), and Justin Chen (CFO).[https://www.wsj.com/video/at-bezar-design-meets-retail/542FD270-688B-436A-923A-931CDD362015.html “At Bezar, Design Meets Retail.” The Wall Street Journal.][http://www.fastcompany.com/3040452/most-creative-people/fab-cofounder-bradford-shellhammer-is-launching-design-sales-site-bezar “Fab Cofounder Bradford Shellhammer Is Launching Design Sales Site Bezar.” Fast Company.] The site featured unique pieces from both emerging designers and established brands in four categories: home, accessories, jewelry, and art.[http://www.fastcompany.com/3040452/most-creative-people/fab-cofounder-bradford-shellhammer-is-launching-design-sales-site-bezar “Fab Cofounder Bradford Shellhammer is Launching Design Sales Site Bezar” Fast Company.] The company was headquartered in SoHo, Manhattan.
The name “Bezar” comes from a combination of the words bazaar and bizarre, which both are phonetically pronounced \bə-ˈzär\.{{Cite news|last=Lu|first=Julia|date=2015-05-01|title=Bezar|page=42|work=Surface|url=https://issuu.com/surfacemag/docs/surface_may_johnpawson_2015_issue11/44|access-date=2021-10-01}}
History
In 2013, Bradford Shellhammer left his role as co-founder and chief design officer of ecommerce website Fab, maintaining a role as a shareholder and non-executive advisor.{{Cite web |last=Konrad |first=Alex |title=Fab.com Co-Founder Departs After Pivot From Flash Sales Model |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2013/11/01/fab-com-co-founder-departs-after-pivot-from-flash-sales-model/ |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=Forbes |language=en}}
In early 2015, Shellhammer announced he would launch and curate his own online design marketplace. Bezar launched in March 2015, featuring four new virtual pop-up shops daily, and a range of exclusive collaborations with designers, labels and brands like FLOS [http://hypebeast.com/2015/6/flos-for-bezar-2015-summer-kelvin-table-lamp “Flos for Bezar 2015 Summer Kelvin Table Lamp” Hypebeast] and Refinery29.[http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/five-to-follow-instagram-for-design-lovers-refinery29-art-airstream/?_r=0 “An Instagram for Design Lovers, Artworks for Sale from the Refinery29 Staff and an Airstream on a Boho Mission” New York Times' T Style Magazine] Bezar's marketplace component, featuring hundreds of permanent designer storefronts, was rolled out in September 2015.[https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/17/bezar-bradford-shellhammers-reimagined-fab-com-goes-live-today/ “Bezar, Bradford Shellhammer’s Reimagined Fab.com, Goes Live Today.” TechCrunch.][http://www.fastcompany.com/3052202/most-creative-people/bradford-shellhammers-bezar-launches-designer-storefronts/1 “Bezar Launches Designer Storefronts” Fast Company]
Funding
Before its launch, Bezar raised a total of $2.25 million in two and a half weeks from seven investment funds and 20 individuals.[http://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/bezar-launch-bradford-shellhammer.html “After Fast Times at Fab.com, a Founder Starts Over Slowly.” Inc.] Notable investors include designer Yves Béhar, Kenneth Lerer, Hiroshi Mikitani and Whoopi Goldberg.[http://www.dezeen.com/2015/01/08/interview-fab-co-founder-bradford-shellhammer-returns-bezar-online-marketplace-emerging-designers-ecommerce/ “Fab Co-Founder Returns with Bezar” Dezeen.]
Acquisition
In February 2016, Bezar was acquired by online luxury goods retailer AHAlife Holdings, Ltd. (ASX:AHL)[http://www.fastcompany.com/3056201/online-marketplace-bezar-has-been-acquired-by-ahalife “Online Marketplace Bezar Has Been Acquired By AHAlife.” Fast Company][https://techcrunch.com/2016/02/02/bezar-acquisition-bradford-shellhammer-ahalife/ “AHAlife Acquires Bradford Shellhammer’s Design Marketplace Bezar” TechCrunch][http://www.dezeen.com/2016/02/02/bradford-shellhammer-bezar-acquired-online-design-retailer-ahalife/ “Bradford Shellhammer's Bezar acquired by online retailer AHAlife” Dezeen]