Ankorstore, a French business, has raised $283 million in Series C funding (€250 million). Ankorstore, which was founded in November 2019, took about two years to attain a post-money valuation of $2 billion (€1.75 billion). In Europe, the company runs a wholesale marketplace for individual retailers.
Ankorstore allows independent brands to sell to independent shops. These shops will subsequently be able to sell those products to their own customers. It’s a business-to-business-to-consumer venture with an emphasis on offline sales at the end of the chain.
Ankorstore has a little bit of everything, from household products to maple syrup, candles, headbands, bath salts, and stationery items. Some verticals, such as non-perishable groceries, cosmetic products, and home goods, have done particularly well.
And, given the company’s direction, it’s been working really well. Currently, 200,000 shops use the marketplace to source merchandise from 15,000 companies. When Ankorstore raised its Series B round in May 2021, the firm told me it was working with 50,000 retailers and 5,000 brands.
This brings us to the current funding cycle. Bond and Tiger Global were the Series C leaders. The round was also attended by Eurazeo and Coatue. Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, GFC, Alven, and Aglae Ventures are among the existing investors who placed more money on the table.
There aren’t many companies competing in this field. Faire, a U.S.-based corporation that has funded over $1 billion, is possibly the most well-known wholesale marketplace; it has lately begun its European growth. Creoate and Orderchamp run wholesale markets in Europe as well.
A market with no inventory
Ankorstore has offices in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. It has a presence in 23 European markets. Retailers can pay up to 60 days after placing an order, and there are no hidden fees. Ankorstore essentially assists shops in focusing on curation and service while the startup handles sourcing.
Brands that list their items on Ankorstore receive a 10% cut on each transaction, with an additional 20% cut on the first order placed through Ankorstore.
Some brands continue to maintain direct relationships with large retailers, such as department shops. And Ankorstore does not ban brands from recruiting salespeople, attending fairs, and so on. The marketplace is simply another sales channel and way to locate clients.
And this is the brilliance of the wholesale marketplace business model. Ankorstore does not have a warehouse and does not have inventory. Without any capital commitment, the company solely facilitates transactions between brands and merchants.
“In the way we function, we think we’re closer to LinkedIn — it’s a network of professionals, and we help them connect with each other,” co-founder and co-CEO Nicolas Cohen told me.
And, like with all social networks, there are some significant network effects as the platform grows in size. Ankorstore, in particular, hopes to expand into new areas such as perishable goods.
The firm already has a partnership with UPS to assist brands with the shipment. However, when it comes to warehousing options for small firms, the company hasn’t done much. That’s an additional opportunity down the road.
Ankorstore, with 400 employees and a large bank account, might serve as a unifying layer in this extremely fragmented market.