Image credit: Berlin Brands Group
Germany-based Berlin Brands Group (BBG), a vertical commerce company that offers sound & light, home & living, and consumer electronic products all under one roof, announced that it has secured a whopping $700M (approx €590.89M) in additional equity and debt funding.
With this fundraise, BBG has earned the status of unicorn now and values at more than $1B. According to the company, the round was led by American private equity investor Bain Capital, which also acquired the stake of BBG’s previous investor, Ardian, for an undisclosed amount.
Get to know the amazing finalists here
The majority of the company’s shares are still held by BBG’s CEO and co-founder Peter Chaljawski and the executive team.
Speaking on the development, Marc Abadir, Managing Director within the Ardian expansion team in Germany, says, “As a platform for well-known e-commerce brands, BBG has clearly demonstrated its ability to acquire and integrate new brands. As a result, the company was able to increase its sales approx fivefold during the period of our commitment. We are proud to have accompanied BBG on this path and have enjoyed a very strong partnership with Peter Chaljawski and his team.”
The development follows BBG announcing a $240M funding round to acquire emerging e-commerce brands, particularly in the US and UK, earlier this year.
Use of the fresh capital
The company will use the funds to fuel growth and M&As. BBG says the capital will help fund the growth of its direct-to-consumer brand portfolio, which it markets through Amazon and other channels. In addition, the company also intends to use the fresh capital to expand its supply chain and logistics infrastructure and further develop its own tech platform – this is particularly important for the integration and development of newly acquired brands.
Speaking on the development, Peter Chaljawski, CEO of BBG says, “With Bain Capital’s commitment and the additional funding secured, we have set our next milestone on our path to building a global house of brands. This allows us to tackle strategic goals of acquiring and developing brands globally, as well as operational and logistical expansion.”
About Berlin Brands Group
BBG is an e-commerce company in the direct-to-consumer business. Currently, the company sells 3,700 products through its 14 owned brands including Klarstein, Auna, Blumfeldt, and Capital Sports, via its 100+ channels.
BBG has access to 1.5 billion active e-commerce customers in Europe, the UK, the US, and parts of Asia. The company’s brands reach customers as they search online in the brand’s own stores, on platforms, and marketplaces.
Currently, its logistic centers are located in Kamp-Lintfort for Western Europe, Bratislava for Eastern Europe, as well as others in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and Istanbul. The company is planning to open more centers in Europe, including in Germany, the UK, Spain, and France. The company also mentioned that it will now ship from its own logistics hubs due to the capacity constraints in many European and international warehouses.
BBG claims to be profitable since its inception in 2005. It employs more than 900 people in five countries and generated sales of more than €334M (2019: €217M) last year.
How partnering up with Salesforce helped him succeed!
