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Wed Oct 19 2016 11:33:42

Amazon Merchant Sells Business for $75 Million

By: Ina Steiner

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Online retailer etailz sold its business for $75 million - thanks in great part to Amazon. According to the press release, here's how they did it:

"etailz is a leading digital marketplace expert retailer, operating both domestically and internationally. They use a data driven approach to digital marketplace retailing utilizing proprietary software and ecommerce insight coupled with a direct customer relationship engagement to identify new distributors and wholesalers, isolate emerging product trends, and optimize price positioning and inventory purchase decisions. 

"In the past 12 months, etailz sold over 30,000 SKUs from over 2,000 manufacturers and distributors in numerous product categories, primarily through the Amazon Marketplace."

It probably helped that one of the cofounders is a venture capitalist - on the other hand, having a business that relies so heavily on one venue sounds tricky.

The company that bought etailz is Trans World Entertainment, a specialty retailer of entertainment and popular culture that operates retail stores in the US and Puerto Rico, primarily under the names FYE for your entertainment and Suncoast.  

Would you ever consider selling your online retail business? What number would it take for you to even consider parting with your etail business?



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by: TomH This user has validated their user name.

Wed Oct 19 22:37:48 2016

''In the past 12 months, etailz sold over 30,000 SKUs from over 2,000 manufacturers and distributors in numerous product categories, primarily through the Amazon Marketplace.''

What does that mean? Difficult to even consider a reaction without knowing the answer to that.

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by: moto-science This user has validated their user name.

Wed Oct 19 23:31:37 2016

The metric for selling an established small  to med ecommerce business is 2-5x gross sales +inventory. Depends on the exclusivity products being offered and the web site having been established long enough to be know.

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by: Barbbie This user has validated their user name.

Thu Oct 20 23:14:31 2016

2 to 5 times seems like a really wide range, I mean if you were the buyer, how would you know what the right price is.
To answer the question though - of course, it is for sale, I do not think I would jump at 2x.  I like the 5x sales figure the best I could retire!

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by: ChannelMAX This user has validated their user name.

Mon Oct 24 03:32:22 2016

Posting with a slight correction, 8 years (not 7 years).

Back in early Y2009, when we (ChannelMAX) started  working with Josh and his team from eTailz, we could clearly sense his strong sense of leadership and market acumen. In last 8 years, many many big retailers have closed their shops, but eTailz flourished, it's surely not just a bit of luck, but hard and smart work and ability to adapt oneself to changing market dynamics.

Congratulations to Josh and his team, and proud to be associated with for last 8 years and hope to serve many many years to come.

Thanks
Paul Das
CEO and Founder
ChannelMAX



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