Amazon / DTC Aggregator Market Updates

There’s a name for many of these companies: zombie brands. The CPG founder has a way of sussing them out: “When the company stops posting on Instagram — that’s usually a [sign] that something’s really not OK.” Then, the founder may check the brand’s LinkedIn page and find that only a few people are still working there. If the CEO is fundraising in a frantic way — sending emails to a wide swath of investors not to miss out on the last $300,000 in their convertible note — it could mean that a brand is eventually headed for zombie land. https://lnkd.in/eS7hQa-7 #dtc #d2c #retail #cpg #onlineretailer #marketplace #directtoconsumer #consumerdirect #founder #turnaround #brands #cosumerproduct

The purchase price is expected to be funded by a combination of equity capital from new and existing shareholders and debt facilities. Amazon will be an investor in and work with Saks Global to innovate on behalf of customers and brands partners following the close of the transaction. Rhône Capital, a transatlantic middle-market private equity firm and affiliated investment entities, will continue as the active lead investor in Saks Global. Global software investor, Insight Partners, an investor in Saks Fifth Avenue, will be a shareholder in the new company. Salesforce will also become an investor at closing. https://lnkd.in/gJvhcvwH #acquisition #merger #merge #investor #retail #brickandmortar

Great opportunity to join a team of very smart people.

The co-CEOs of SellerX, an Amazon aggregator startup backed by BlackRock, are set to depart the company, three years after selling shares worth at least $7.1m each. Philipp Triebel and Malte Horeyseck founded SellerX, which is based in Berlin, in August 2020 and have been co-CEOs since then. An email sent to staff earlier today, seen by Sifted, announcing their departure said that Jeremy Bell, the cofounder of Elevate Brands (acquired by SellerX Group), an aggregator acquired by SellerX in May last year, will take over as CEO starting on July 1. https://lnkd.in/gYKjXeQQ #exit #liquidityevent #amazonbrand #ecommerce #onlineretailer #retail #marketplacebrand #retailbrand

Weeks ahead of his testimony in Washington, Kushner and others from his private equity firm, Affinity Partners., took a boat from their beach office in South Florida to meet with a company called Unybrands at its headquarters in nearby Miami, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the talks were private. https://lnkd.in/gtK2qZbs #trump #privateequity #PE #amazon #marketplace #amazonfba #investment #fundraising #ecommerce

Thrasio, an Amazon aggregator, has said that it has emerged from Chapter 11 of bankruptcy, as per a report by Reuters. The company has further added that it has appointed Stephanie Fox as its chief executive officer. https://lnkd.in/gwpTXq9z

Vanessa and Kim Pham, the co-founders of Asian-flavored meal kit company Omsom, knew that DayDayCook (DDC Enterprise Limited) founder Norma Chu aspired to build a "General Mills for Asian food," she told the food publication Nosh--and they wanted to chat. https://lnkd.in/gMab789t #cpg #dtc #branding #fnb #fmcg #onlineretail #ecommerce #acquisition #manda

Will non Shopify merchants soon be able to customize their checkouts as well ? Commerce platform Shopify has acquired Checkout Blocks, allowing Shopify Plus merchants to make no-code customizations in their checkout to enhance customer experience and potentially boost sales. Checkout Blocks, which debuted on Shopify in September 2022, lets merchants customize their checkout by adding things such as AI recommendations, custom content (like information banners, images, headlines, and more), custom fields (such as gift messages or delivery notes), discounts, email address validation, personalized order status and thank you pages, and more. #ecommerce #checkout #cro #conversionrateoptimization #shoppingcart #cartoptimization #onlineretail #dtc #d2c https://lnkd.in/g44u8hCW

BigCommerce, the e-commerce software maker that used to be backed by SoftBank Group Corp. is exploring a sale after attracting takeover interest, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. BigCommerce has become an acquisition target after losing 90% of its market value in the four years since its initial public offering. It has struggled to compete against larger rival Shopify. https://lnkd.in/gCt7ag7w #sale #acquistion #cms #b2c #retail #shopify #ecommerce #saas #storebuilder

Thrasio, the top aggregator of Amazon  third-party sellers, is losing its CEO and five other senior executives, months after the former highflier filed for bankruptcy. Greg Greeley, Thrasio’s CEO, informed staff on Tuesday that he plans to resign, according to an internal memo viewed by CNBC. Finance chief Josh Burke is also leaving, along with the company’s technology chief, head of human relations, chief commercial officer and supply chain lead. https://lnkd.in/g9h3zVTg