Boxed, purveyor of bulk home products that likened itself to an online Costco, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to find a buyer and enduring sustained weak revenue and earnings, a far cry from the promise of its SPAC IPO in December 2021. An affiliate of its main creditor may purchase its software service.
Boxed, the once high-flying online answer to price clubs like Costco, BJ’s Wholesale and Sam’s Club, is considering a bankruptcy filing if it can’t find a buyer as its struggles continue 15 months after going public in a much-anticipated SPAC deal. At the same time, Boxed said it plans to lay off about 25% of its 136 employees.
E-grocery sales were down both sequentially and year-over-year in January, driven mostly by declines in the ship-to-home category, but gains from pre-pandemic levels have mostly held even though delivery options have been impacted by inflation, according to a Brick Meets Click/Mercatus report.
Boxed, the once high-flying online warehouse club that set out to be the ecommerce equivalent of brick-and-click competitors like Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s, is now exploring strategic alternatives, which euphemistically means looking for a buyer. And Amazon acknowledged an expansion of its corporate layoffs from 10,000 to 18,000.
After various acquisition offers didn’t work out, club-based grocery and CPG ecommerce startup Boxed has secured a $110 million funding round, validating the company’s technology and market position as the e-grocery space continues to heat up.
As the battle heats up for same-day grocery delivery in urban markets, Jet.com is opening a new fulfillment center this fall in the Bronx, NY to service New York City customers with not only food in a flash but other merchandise as well. See what other players are up to in the hyper-competitive market.
Target is taking a new approach to its distribution model for retail and ecommerce orders, testing out a “flow center” concept that draws from a common inventory pool and sends smaller shipments to stores to enable quicker turns and lower stock levels.
Boxed launched “Boxed Up,” a new paid membership service. For $49 a year, members of the program will receive free rush shipping on orders over $20, improved customer service, price matching and cash back on purchases. Here are some of the other perks this new paid membership promises to customers.
As merchants search for ways to contend with the behemoth of Amazon – which accounted for about half of ecommerce sales in 2017 – many are focusing on the last mile, returns and outsourcing to battle back. This MCM Outlook report, based on our annual survey of Multichannel Merchant readers, looks at trends and stats in all three areas.
Instacart announced that it has joined forces with Toronto-based Unata, a digital solution platform that will provide Instacart the ecommerce tools it needs to evolve in online grocery shopping. See how Instacart plans to go up against Amazon with this acquisition.