About Forum Brands:
As more people purchase online than ever before, the number of entrepreneurs acquiring e-commerce businesses, particularly those operating on Amazon, to develop and scale is growing. Forum Brands, which said today that it has raised $27 million in equity funding for its technology-driven e-commerce acquisition platform, is the latest such firm to raise funds.
Existing investors NFX and Concrete Rose also participated in the round, which was led by Norwest Venture Partners. Last summer, amid the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, Brenton Howland, Ruben Amar, and Alex Kopco formed Forum Brands in New York. Its stated mission was to leverage data to acquire new ideas through acquisition.
Forum Brands Funding:
Forum Brands, situated in New York City, is a fast-growing digital consumer goods company. They announced today that they had raised $27 million in equity capital. They’re a bunch of clever ex-Amazon, private equity, and eCommerce tech alums who’ve come up with a novel way to roll up Amazon marketplace e-commerce brands. They seek out promising direct-to-consumer durables businesses, acquire them, and assist them in transitioning to the omnichannel retail of the future, where they will have significantly better reach and profitability. If you started today, this is how you’d construct the next P&G or Unilever.
Howland and Kopco’s Verdicts
“We’re buying what we think are A+ high-growth e-commerce businesses that sell predominantly on Amazon and are looking to build a portfolio of standalone businesses that are category leaders, on and off Amazon,” Howland said.
Howland explained, “We’re buying what we think are A+ high-growth e-commerce businesses that sell primarily on Amazon and are looking to establish a portfolio of standalone businesses that are category leaders, both on and off Amazon.” Forum’s technology uses “sophisticated” algorithms and more than 60 million data points to load brand information into a central platform in real-time, assessing brands quickly and delivering precise financial indicators.
Its apps use analytics to make recommendations that help brands develop and succeed financially. The company’s multichannel strategies were then used to position the brands for “long-term category leadership.” “We’re utilizing a lot of data science and machine learning techniques to construct technologies that will eventually allow us to run a huge portfolio of digital brands efficiently at scale,” says Kopco.
Stew Campbell’s Verdicts About Forum Brands
Stew Campbell of Norwest Venture Partners feels that the number of sellers who are having difficulty scaling due to a lack of resources or time will continue to rise. Forum Brands plans to take advantage of this. “The entrepreneurs behind many Amazon-first firms continue to have a need for more liquidity choices. “Forum assists entrepreneurs in recognizing value, which can be substantial for many,” he explained.
”After the purchase, the Forum team leverages operational efficiencies and scalability to improve Amazon consumer experiences.” Campbell highlights that Forum Brands’ employees drew his company in, which the company claims as a distinction. “The Forum team balances long-term attitudes and an emphasis on technology while offering operational and M&A expertise,” Campbell says, adding that his firm has seen many alternative models in this industry.
