After eleven years in retail digital marketing, Corina Marshall observed that the industry was lagging behind. She noticed that the technology used to help retail brands sell unsold or excess products, known as off-channel inventory, was not as sophisticated as it could be.
Brands often sell this excess inventory to discount retailers like Nordstrom Rack, but they frequently lose money in the process. Managing unsold inventory is difficult because products are spread across various warehouses, and teams are left guessing about an item’s value and the optimal time to sell it.
Marshall explained that too much time passes between each step of the off-channel inventory funnel, making it hard to move products to the most favorable destinations for brands and retailers. To address this, she decided to give the off-channel market a technology boost and launched her company, Another, in 2024.
Another is a software system designed to help companies manage unsold or excess products. The secondary markets where these items are sold operate on tight timelines and feature highly dynamic pricing due to fluctuating demand. For a retailer to succeed in a place like Nordstrom Rack, it needs fast access to real-time data and coordination to move clothes efficiently from the retailer to the warehouse to the store.
The software connects to a business’s existing systems, such as those managing customer returns, to better centralize an organization’s data and workflows. This allows teams across the company to access data from a single place, leading to more effective decision-making.
The company recently announced a $2.5 million seed funding round led by Anthemis FIL and Westbound. Marshall met her lead investors through an industry event last year and stated the new capital will be used to accelerate product development and hiring.
She considers companies like Ghost, which also helps brands sell unsold inventory, to be competitors. However, Another aims to help companies address excess inventory before brands opt to sell items to bulk resellers. Items sold through such resellers may be deeply discounted, an outcome brands typically want to avoid.
Another’s technology provides real-time data and insights that give teams confidence in when, where, and how to move inventory. This enables smarter decisions that maximize value rather than defaulting to liquidation.
Overall, Marshall hopes her product helps move the industry toward solutions that better balance profitability and sustainability, as excess inventory is often destroyed if not moved quickly enough. The result is a scenario where consumers gain access to better prices and more options, while brands and retailers improve profitability and reduce waste, creating a win for everyone involved.