e-Commerce and more I 19th to 25th Apr - #84

The enemy of my enemy is my friend!

The big news of the week is Mercado Libre Alliance with Soriana in Mexico!! The alliance between a powerhouse of online + a powerhouse of brick & mortar will be exciting to watch!

Also last week!

Affirm to purchase Returnly in a $300 million deal, DTC furniture brand Floyd is launching a resale marketplace, Amazon launches Amazon Salon in London!! StartUp of the week: Aftership raises $66M.

1. Mercado Libre and Soriana join forces in a retail strategy

Latin America is the region that grew the most in eCommerce in the last 12 months! This has accelerated significantly the transformation speed for many companies.

I think that this alliance between Soriana and Mercado Libre is a very smart move joining forces of both companies. Soriana will have a presence in the Mercado Libre Marketplace with categories such as personal care, wellness, pets, garden, food and beverages, beauty, and home. The Marketplace will also manage warehousing and delivery for Soriana and promise a 24 hours delivery.

Do we see more of these cooperations in the future? I would bet YES! If you can’t build it fast enough, you better partner!

2. Affirm to purchase Returnly in $300 million deal

A financial firm acquiring a reverse logistics solution! Interesting no?

Growth of eCommerce = Growth of Returns!

Returnly helps merchants to process returns by offering instant store credit even before an item is returned to the merchant, this allows the consumers to use their store credit to get replacement items before their return is fully processed. That’s a great way to get product replacement rather than a lost sales!

"Store credit, issued before the item is actually returned, is now a practical requirement in highly competitive segments like fashion and lifestyle," Affirm Chief Executive Max Levchin and that’s really the core of why this is a great acquisition for Returnly.

3. DTC furniture brand Floyd is launching a resale marketplace

After doubling its sales last year, DTC furniture brand Floyd has overhauled its reverse logistics process to introduce a resale program. No more waste and everything must go!!

Last year, Ikea announced a resale program as well, we are seeing the Recommerce trend (already very present in apparel, footwear and consumer electronics) growing in the home decoration & furniture space!! The growth of eCommerce and returns have accelerated the adoption of new business models such as rental/subscription and ReCommerce!

Do you buy second-hand furniture? I would!

4. Amazon launches hair salon with augmented reality in London

Alexa, can I get a Prime Cut?!!

The giant of eCommerce doesn’t stop surprising us every single day!! For the people still thinking that Amazon is not a threat to their industry, think again!!

The main purpose of the salon will be to test technology and get closer to consumers!!

5. StartUp of the week: AfterShip

E-commerce tracking platform AfterShip raises $66M led by Tiger Global

The post-purchase eCommerce experience & return space is hot in 2021!!! Following a wave of fundraising in fulfilment technologies & last-mile delivery, we are now seeing a wave of investment in post-purchase experience & return management!

AfterShip announced today it raised $66M Series B led by Tiger Global!

This follows the recent previous announcements in the space!

ZigZag Global got acquired by Globalblue (not announced how much but probably around $70M)

ReverseLogix Raises $20 Million from Cambridge Capital

More on the way !!

Cheers, enjoy

Nabil