Istanbul-based RubiBrands has set a new record in the Turkish e-commerce space by raising $23 million in a seed round. The startup is taking the road less traveled by focusing on hyper-growth emerging markets and sidestepping the congested Asian supply chain route, ultimately angling to position Turkey as a central logistics hub.
It’s no secret that there’s no shortage of fulfilled by Amazon players out on today’s pitch, but RubiBrands is the first hailing from Turkey. And as we saw with Go North, these players are now aiming to make their mark on the e-commerce world through variations on a theme.
With RubiBrands, the attack is twofold; the company’s focus lies primarily in acquiring brands from CEEMEA (Central Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa), but more importantly, targeting brands that have weak ties with Asia. Instead, RubiBrands wants to quash the erosion of margins e-commerce players have seen via crushing supply chain issues, and position Turkey as the central logistics hub.
"In the traditional FBA roll-up business, there is a major reliance in sourcing from Asia, which saw the lead times almost triple for consumer products,” explained CEO Yetkin Güneş. “Also, being close to the manufacturers allows us to innovate faster and control the quality of our products.”
RubiBrands has already acquired 7 brands and is active on some 15+ marketplaces including, obviously, global outlet Amazon US, UK, Germany and UAE as well as Trendyol, Hepsiburada, Allegro, Zalando, Noon, Jumia, and Getir.
“We acquire top brands that are shielded from bonafide FBA aggregator competition and supply chain bottlenecks. We prefer to invest in larger, more established, and highly profitable brands and partner up with the founders. This allows for a non-disruptive know-how transfer and continuous product innovation,” commented CIO Irtek Uraz. “Our goal is to become the leading roll-up business in the region, reaching 25 brands, 12 million units shipped, and a $110 million annual revenue in the next 12 months.”
RubiBrand’s record-shattering $23 million seed funding round was assembled via JAM Fund, Atempo Growth, D4 Ventures, Esas Ventures, Alarko Ventures, and angel investors from Softbank, Lazada, and Merama.
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments