The Order : Weekly Aggregator Roundup - Heyday, Lenskart, Mensa, BBG, OpenStore & Gravitiq

Chart of the week:

eCommerce everything? We are far from that. Marketplace Pulse this week focused on the growth trajectory of the space in it’s analysis titled “Covid Didn’t Accelerate E-Commerce”. Yet, it detailed another aspect of the industry: 13% is going to eCommerce. 87% is not (yet). Overall consumers are spending more both online and offline. 

US eCommerce as a percentage of total sales [Marketplace Pulse]

New funding this week: $1,120M

Funding Craze 💰

• US: Heyday raises a blended $555M round with Raine Group and Premji co-leading the Series C. The firm reports $200m+ in revenues across 15 brands out of which the top 5 brands make up 70% of revenues [Techcrunch]

• India: Lenskart Labs raises $200M from Falcon Edge Capital to aggregate eyewear brands with initial focus on Europe [Business Line]

• India: Mensa Brands raises $135M series B with Falcon Edge Capital leading the round. Mensa currently covers 12 brands across apparel, Beauty & personal care, and home. [Techcrunch] 

• EU: Berlin Brands Group adds $100M from PE group Ardian [Forbes]

• US: OpenStore raises $75M series B led by General Catalyst to accelerate the acquisition of Shopify sellers [Forbes] 

• EU: Gravitiq raises a blended $55M seed round to acquire and scale Amazon-focused healthcare brands [Techcrunch]

Strategy 📈

• Inventory & pricing focus: How top Amazon aggregators like Thrasio are gearing up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday [Business Insider]

• Moving mainstream: “Big Money Rounds Flood Amazon Aggregator Space” [Crunchbase] 

• Details on 10Clubs 3 DTC garden brands acquisitions [Business Today]

• Amazon will discontinue accepting Visa in the UK. ‘For anything else there is Mastercard’. “Consumers caught in middle as Amazon, Visa clash over fees” [ABC News]

• Brands, Department Stores, Fakes & Land - a rundown of Amazon’s current reach: “The complete A-to-Z guide to how Amazon is taking over everything” [Fast Company]

• Walmart Fulfillment Service on the rise after its introduction in Feb 2020. In comparison, 15-year old FBA covers 75% of Amazon sales: Walmart Fulfills 25% of Its Marketplace Sales [Marketplace Pulse] 

• Online Merchants Squeezed by Surging Freight Costs, Slower Demand [The Information] 

• Shopee is now equal to Alibaba’s entire international e-commerce, and about to outgrow it [Vulcan Post]

Events 🎤

• Seller Barcamp Nov 27, Berlin

• Boundless Commerce Meetup Dec 5, Munich

Let's make this week count,

Christian