Another retail startup is raising $2.5 million to help sell off excess inventory

Corinna Marshall spent 11 years working in retail digital marketing and realized that the industry was behind the times.

Specifically, the technology that helped retail brands sell unsold or excess products (off-channel inventory) was not as sophisticated as it could have been. Brands sell their excess inventory at discount retailers like Nordstrom Rack, but they often lose money because managing unsold inventory is difficult. Products are distributed across warehouses, and teams are left to guess what the item is worth and when is the best time to sell it.

“A lot of time passes between each step of the off-channel inventory pipeline, making it difficult to move products to the most convenient destinations for brands and retailers,” Marshall told TechCrunch.

It decided to give the off-channel market a technical boost. In 2024, her company launched Another, a software system that helps companies manage unsold or excess products. The secondary markets in which these items are sold typically operate within tight schedules and can feature highly dynamic prices due to fluctuating demand. For a retailer to succeed in a place like Nordstrom Rack, she said, it needs quick access to real-time data and coordination so that clothes can move from retailer to warehouse to store efficiently.

Another system connects to a company’s existing software systems, such as those that manage customer revenue, to improve the centralization of enterprise data and workflow. This way, teams across the company can access data from the same place, making the decision-making process more effective.

The company on Tuesday announced a $2.5 million seed round led by Anthemis FIL and Westbound.

Marshall said it met its lead investors through an industry event last year, and said the new capital will be used to accelerate product development and hiring. It considers the marketplaces of its competitors like Ghost, another company that also helps brands sell unsold inventory.

However, she said there is another hope in helping businesses address excess inventory before brands choose to sell items to wholesale retailers. Items sold through these resellers may be heavily discounted, an outcome brands may not want, she says.

“Others’ technology provides real-time data and insights that give teams confidence in when, where and how inventory is moved, enabling smarter decisions that maximize value rather than defaulting to liquidation,” she said. Overall, she hopes her product will help move the industry toward solutions that strike a better balance between profitability and sustainability, as excess inventory is often destroyed if not moved quickly enough.

“Consumers get better prices and more choice, while brands and retailers improve profitability and reduce waste, making it a win-win for everyone involved.”