Business insider has reported that Apple has taken a shining to the Pinterest rival The Fancy. The Fancy a sort of e commerce social network where you can ‘fancy’ a product that you like with a view to buying it. If Apple purchased this and linked it to it’s iTunes payment system the possibilities are practically endless. While The Fancy is far smaller than its rival Pinterest it is growing very fast and it takes a 10 percent cut of the purchases on the site so if Apple put it’s weight behind it then it could take it far.
The business insider mentions that the site has already seen investment and some big names have taken interest:
“However, given what we’ve learned, it was apparently no coincidence that Einhorn and Apple CEO Tim Cook met at Allen & Co.’s Sun Valley conference earlier this year. The notoriously private Cook, who does not visibly participate in any well-known social media sites, started using The Fancy shortly afterwards.
The Fancy raised a $10 million round at a reported valuation of $100 million last fall, led by PPR, the French luxury conglomerate behind Gucci. It previously raised $6 million in 2010; $2.7 million of that round went to Einhorn and his cofounder, his brother Jack Einhorn, according to an SEC filing. Investment bank Allen & Co. was an early investor.”
There might be some really interesting things to come from this and if Apple combines this with its iWallet (mobile payments) they could become quite a strong e commence player.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-wants-to-buy-pinterest-rival-the-fancy-2012-8#ixzz22mmmqxwA
