Lincoln-based e-commerce company, Spreetail, raised a large private equity round in late February. The company provides e-commerce solutions to large retailers. These solutions include delivery to customers (DtC) and data analytics around inventory. As such, the company plays a critical role in fulfilling the e-commerce retail promise of fast, accurate delivery.
In the release associated with the transaction, Spreetail revealed that the company has reached $1B in revenue. “As one of the largest global ecommerce accelerators for manufacturers and the first to reach $1B in revenue in 2021, we are thrilled to announce the closing of a funding round that brought in $208M.” This milestone marks a significant one for Lincoln, making Spreetail one of just a handful of billion dollar companies. With Nelnet, Hudl, and Monolith, Spreetail is a cornerstone of the Lincoln technology ecosystem.
The round was supported by McCarthy Capital, internal management, and other investors to bolster the business with Moelis & Company LLC acting as the exclusive placement agent. According to Pitchbook, the round was the second in which McCarthy Capital participated. This is a more traditional private equity investment which is McCarthy’s wheelhouse. However, the firm has recently expanded to include growth capital – including their recent investment in PetFriendly.
According to the company, “this injection [of capital] will enable us to enhance technology efficiencies and support brand partner growth.” With partners such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target, “brand partner growth” likely means continuing to find long tail partners that provide niche products. This increase of customers, therefore, does require significant software re-architecture to manage more, smaller users.
The investment comes on the heels of our team announcing its acquisition of Buy Box Experts – a performance marketing agency with a deep-seated history of driving brand success on Amazon. Expansion of capability offering combined with additional inward investments positions Spreetail to lead its peers in the ecommerce accelerator space in 2023 and beyond.
While projections of ecommerce growth appear to be slowing, Spreetail is strategically poised to weather what some are calling the “ecommerce winter.”
“Many brands, aggregators, and agencies are heavily leveraged moving into 2023,” said Spreetail Global CEO, Brett Thome. “We have read the writing on the wall around post-pandemic shifts in consumer behavior combined with inflationary concerns and have repositioned Spreetail to increase our investment into our brand partnerships, our technology, and our organization this year. We understand the future of Spreetail needs to be focused on mutual growth with our brand partners while investing in our tech stack. Every penny is being injected back into the business to do this which will add stability to the future growth of Spreetail for years to come.”
“Spreetail’s accelerator capabilities simplify a brand’s ability to diversify retail investment, increase access to new shoppers, and scale product offering faster than ever before,” stated Owen Carr, Spreetail North American CEO. “We are focusing our efforts to strengthen brand relationships and invest in our channel partnerships. To do this we are bringing in the right brands, expanding channel partnerships to reach more customers, and advancing our capabilities. Today it takes resilience to adapt to the ever-changing world of ecommerce and that is a must for any successful company.”
Spreetail’s role in the Lincoln economy is important, and finding financing for growth marks a key success pathway for the company to continue to grow its footprint in Nebraska. For more information about the company, check them out at https://spreetail.com.
