Image credits: Storebox
Vienna-based logistics and warehousing startup, Storebox, has raised €52M in its Series B investment round. The funding round saw participation from several investors like Activum SG, Attila Balogh, Kineo Finance, n3K Holding, Senger-Weiss, Wicklow Capital and Wille Finance. Existing investors Romulus (Hansi Hansmann) and APIC Investments also participated in the round.
Fund utilisation
With the proceeds, the company plans to increase its presence in European markets.
Recently, the winners of the 2021 Future Hamburg Award were announced.
Storebox founders Johannes Braith (CEO), Ferdinand Dietrich (CCO) and Christoph Sandraschitz (CTO) have come up with a two-fold strategy. The first one includes ground-level business premises, and unused spaces in secondary locations will be converted into urban multifunctional warehouses that can be rented by both business and domestic customers of Storebox. Second, Storebox’s franchise model that will contribute to the company’s further growth.
Johannes Braith (CEO) says, “With this investment, we aim to open thousands of locations in Europe over the next few years and to become the market leader in micro-logistics hubs to provide, among other things, the necessary infrastructure for Q Commerce, i.e., the delivery of online orders within minutes. Storebox already has one of the fastest-growing franchise systems in Europe and, with its completely digitised access solution, enables new logistics and warehouse concepts.”
The company further mentions in a statement that the expansion into the European markets will initially be achieved by increasing the density of the Storebox network in the German-speaking region, primarily in German cities with a population of 30,000 or more. Market entry to several other European countries is also being prepared.
Opportunities in the European markets
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive surge in the development of urban self-storage, inner-city, close-meshed and decentralised micro-logistics hubs. Europe seems to be running a little slow when compared with the USA and China in this area, where considerably more urban self-storage space and more efficient, customer-centric logistics solutions are available for the last mile.
Currently, there are more than 120 locations with the Hamster logo but when it comes to growth opportunities for Storebox in Europe, it is humongous, claims the company.
“Due to the booming online trade, several industries are recording enormous growth figures in the home delivery sector. Last mile logistics will require new forms and structures to meet the growing market trends. Storebox, with its decentralised and digitised location network, will play a key role in the development of the important future market of urban logistics,” says Johannes Braith.
About Storebox
Storebox claims to be the first completely digitised self-storage solution in Europe. Founded by Johannes Braith, Ferdinand Dietrich, and Christoph Sandraschitz in 2016, logistics and warehouse startup Storebox is present in 120 locations in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.
The domestic and commercially used storage areas are accessible 24/7. The company claims to be building a multifunctional storage infrastructure for new logistics solutions in urban areas across Europe. The decentralised, close-meshed organisation of these micro-hubs brings logistics from the periphery back to the cities, according to the company.
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