M&A, JVs, and Alliances
Marketplace News
freelance.ca reinforces market leadership with Workhoppers acquisition
- freelance.ca, the emerging leading online marketplace for professional freelancers in Canada, acquired Workhoppers, a renowned Canadian freelancer platform
- This strategic acquisition strengthens freelance.ca's position in the Canadian market and expands its portfolio of services for freelancers and businesses nationwide
- "We are delighted with the acquisition of Workhoppers and are convinced that this represents a win-win situation for all parties involved," says Simon Gravel, CEO of freelance.ca. "This development aims to establish us as a leader in the Canadian freelancer market and will enable us to offer our growing community an average of 100 new projects daily by the end of the year."
MOTORS buys Cazoo brand, plans major revamp
- MOTORS, a UK-based online used car-buying marketplace, has acquired the Cazoo brand and plans to revamp it as a mobile-first offering with the launch of a new app and website?
- The business said it would invest significantly in the Cazoo brand while retaining the existing MOTORS website, providing car dealers access to a broad audience through its network, which includes partners such as eBay and Gumtree
- “Despite its challenges as a business, Cazoo has undoubtedly become a household name with car buyers. We have the expertise and inventory to immediately establish the new Cazoo site as a modern marketplace for used cars,” said Barry Judge, CEO of MOTORS. “We will build on the excitement and engagement that the Cazoo brand has already created with consumers to deliver more sales inquiries for our dealer partners.”
Target partnering with Shopify to bring new merchants to its digital marketplace
- Target Corporation announced a partnership with global commerce platform Shopify to offer a selection of its popular merchants and their products on Target Plus, the retailer's third-party, highly curated digital marketplace
- The new partnership with Shopify will expand Target Plus through a hand-selected assortment of new and on-trend products and brands like True Classic, Caden Lane and more, giving consumers even more options to explore at affordable prices and with exceptional quality
- Shopify merchants in the U.S. will be able to apply to sell online on Target Plus through Marketplace Connect, an app that allows merchants to sell and manage orders on marketplaces such as Target Plus
Albertsons and Grubhub partner for grocery delivery services in the U.S.?
- Grubhub has partnered with Albertsons to offer grocery delivery services from the supermarket chain
- Grubhub's agreement enables users to place grocery orders from almost 1,800 of Albertsons' roughly 2,200 stores
- The collaboration will see Albertsons bring its ACME, Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Safeway, Shaw’s, Tom Thumb and Vons store banners to Grubhub’s marketplace for delivery
- Grubhub VP Craig Whitmer, said: “We are pleased to grow our grocery offering with Albertsons Cos, one of the leading grocery retailers in the US, and allow customers to conveniently place their grocery orders within Grubhub. Through this exciting partnership, we are giving consumers more choices while maximizing value so that they find exactly what they need on Grubhub delivered right to their door.”?
E-commerce News
Orium announced the acquisition of Gluo
- Orium, the leading composable commerce specialist in North America, acquired the e-commerce agency Gluo
- Gluo specializes in developing e-commerce applications that bring together strategy, creativity, design, and technology to create powerful, adaptable experiences
- The acquisition will enhance Orium’s ability to serve the fast-growing U.S. market as well as support an expansion into the emerging Latin American market
- “Orium and Gluo share a vision for commerce experiences, centered on the efficiency and scalability of composable technologies,” said Jason Cottrell, CEO of Orium. “By adding Gluo’s talented e-commerce experts to our team, we’re expanding our services to help our clients seize new opportunities. Our joint work with great brands like Harry Rosen, DXL, FilterEasy, and iFit showcases how well we work together and prove that the right team can produce extraordinary results. I’m excited to see even more success moving forward as a single entity.”
THG sells luxury brands to Frasers in multipronged deal
- THG, the UK-based e-commerce group, has struck a deal with Frasers Group, owner of Sports Direct, to sell its luxury goods websites, including the well-known Coggles brand
- A key aspect of the deal involves integrating Frasers’ loyalty program, Frasers Plus, into THG’s Ingenuity e-commerce platform and allowing THG customers to benefit from the loyalty scheme, potentially boosting customer engagement for both companies
Bloomreach announced a partnership with SCAYLE
- Bloomreach, the platform for e-commerce personalization, announced a partnership with SCAYLE, the e-commerce platform for enterprise retailers, to drive more omnichannel customer journeys.
- The collaboration will make it possible to build on SCAYLE’s intuitive and flexible commerce platform and create personalized experiences at every touchpoint of the customer journey with real-time data and AI
- “We are very excited to partner with Bloomreach. Their personalization, marketing automation, and discovery products complement SCAYLE’s focus on providing great customer experiences at ease,” said Steven Fockema Andreae, Head of Partnerships, SCAYLE. “We’re looking forward to working with one of the top vendors in the field to create meaningful experiences across channels that drive growth and differentiation.”
Sector news
Marketplace News
Amazon to invest €10BN in Logistics and Cloud Services across Germany
- Amazon plans to invest €10BN in its German operations to foster innovation and support the expansion of its Logistics network and cloud infrastructure across the country
- As part of this investment, AWS plans to invest €8.8BN by 2026 to build, maintain and operate its cloud infrastructure for the AWS Europe (Frankfurt) Region
- The announcement increases Amazon’s planned investments in Germany to €17.8BN, following the €7.8BN AWS? European Sovereign Cloud investment
- This investment will meet the growing demand for AWS technologies in Germany
Nomad Health raises $22MM for healthcare job marketplace
- Nomad Health, an NYC-based digital marketplace for healthcare jobs, raised $22MM in funding
- The round was led by HealthQuest Capital. Other investors included Adams Street, Icon Ventures, Polaris Partners, .406 Ventures, and RRE Ventures
- The company intends to use the funds to expand its product portfolio and meet demand for its staffing-enabling technology
Zomato boosts quick commerce arm Blinkit with $35MM investment
- Indian food delivery platform Zomato is set to bolster its quick commerce arm Blinkit with an Rs3BN ($35MM) investment
- The investment marks Zomato’s continued commitment to the quick commerce space, bringing its total capital infusion in Blinkit to Rs23bn since the acquisition in August 2022
- Blinkit’s financial performance has shown significant growth, with revenues for fiscal year 2024 reaching Rs23BN, a substantial increase from Rs10BN in the fiscal year 2023
E-commerce News
Shein shifting IPO to the UK amid pressures in the U.S.
- Shein, a global online retailer best known for its extensive range of fashionable, affordable clothing and accessories is reportedly facing numerous challenges in its pursuit of an IPO in the United States
- Shein is reportedly preparing to confidentially file for a ￡50BN (about $63BN) offering in London in the coming weeks
- Tensions between China and the U.S. have impacted business and trade, making it increasingly difficult for Shein to go public in the U.S.
- The company, which was last valued at $66BN, confidentially filed for its U.S. IPO in November but has encountered resistance to joining the American retail sphere
Daydream secures $50MM in seed funding
- Daydream, a new e-commerce search engine that uses AI to make searches more personalized and useful for people, has raised a massive $50MM seed round
- The seed round was co-led by Forerunner Ventures and Index Ventures with participation from GV (Google Ventures) and True Ventures
- The company intends to use the funds to further enhance its personalized shopping experience empowered by a search engine that offers a way to find and discover women’s and men’s fashion
- Daydream is building an entirely new platform leveraging developments in generative AI, machine learning, and computer vision to change the end-to-end shopping journey and experience starting from search and discovery
Pop raises $2.4MM in new funding round
- E-commerce business Pop has raised $2.4MM in a new funding round led by India Quotient
- The business plans to use the investment towards implementing its UPI service and bolstering its customer reward system
- “Pop’s goal is to become the most sought-after go-to platform for payments and shopping for digitally active young Indians,” Pop’s Founder and CEO, Bhargav Errangi. “As consumer behaviors evolve, we aim to provide innovative app experiences tailored to their interests in daily consumption.”
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