Razor Group, a Berlin-based aggregator of top-selling brands, and Factory 14, the UK rollup which it acquired in 2022, are being sued by two companies and their founders — Kettlebell Kings and Tribe WOD — in interlocking charges of breach of contract and failure to live up to purchase agreements by not adequately funding their growth and expansion.
Preparing for peak season volumes in DTC fulfillment requires not only cooperation among partners but scheduling stress tests, ensuring sufficient server capacity and nailing down carrier commitments well in advance, attendees were told during a panel discussion at Home Delivery World in Philadelphia.
Retailers and CPG companies have had a symbiotic relationship for decades, teaming up to offer customers more choice in convenient in-person and ecommerce storefronts. As both take on each other’s challenges, they must learn from the other’s processes and best practices to sustain new revenue streams in the long term based on evolving consumer behaviors, preferences and spending habits.
The curious case of Walmart’s venture into creating a stable of hot startup DTC brands has come to a close, with the 2023 sales of Moosejaw, Bonobos and Eloquii in quick succession. So it’s a fitting time to take a look at the six-year-plus journey that began with the $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com. We look back and ruminate with Raj Konanahalli, a partner and managing director with AlixPartners.
A new testing protocol to gauge the protective qualities of ecommerce packaging has been released by the International Safe Transit Association to help retailers, brands and partners ensure proper packaging design that can withstand the rigors of handling along the ecommerce/DTC chain. It addresses the fact that traditional retail packaging is often not up to the task of protection.
Less than two months after selling off Moosejaw Mountaineering to a more appropriate home at Dick’s Sporting Goods, another of Walmart’s digital-first apparel brands is being sold. This time, menswear seller Bonobos is going to Express and WHP Global for $75 million, a $235 million discount to its $310 million acquisition in 2017.
Ecommerce entertainment is a fast-emerging trend merchants will need to build into growth strategies and investment plans. “Showbiz” will be the new ecommerce battleground. The convergence of tech, commerce, brand power and consumer hunger for enjoyable experiences will increasingly drive competitive differentiation.
Amware Fulfillment, a 3PL focused on direct-to-customer commerce, has been acquired by French logistics provider Staci Group in a marriage that provides customers of both firms with entrance into markets in Europe and the U.S., respectively. The companies will also cross-pollinate their respective technology strengths.
Branded Group, a New York-based acquirer of digitally native brands, is being sued by Austin Naturals, a company it purchased in 2021, whose principals allege they are due $1.25M million as part of their agreement. The deferred payment was contingent on Austin Naturals hitting a first-year EBITDA target, which it claims it did.
While iconic denim maker Levi Strauss has been a direct-to-consumer sales powerhouse for the past few years, an area where many brands large and small have placed their bets for sustained growth as wholesale has struggled, the company’s DTC numbers slipped a bit in the fourth quarter.