Olsam have completed the acquisition of MarketFleet, a US-based incubator and aggregator of ecommerce brands.
Over the past few years we’ve seen an explosion in the aggregator sector, where businesses set out to acquire already established private label brand businesses to grow a portfolio. The proposition is that when your business grows to a certain size, further growth could be restricted but can be unlocked by an aggregator operating in multiple territories and experts with individual expertise in different aspects of marketplace trading.
With the hundreds of aggregator businesses that sprang up recently, it’s no surprise to see some consolidation in this field with aggregators now acquiring aggregators. Indeed, this is the second aggregator acquisition by Olsam, having already swallowed up Flywheel Commerce in November 2021.
MarketFleet was founded in 2015, by a group of ecommerce experts including serial entrepreneur Chris Friedland, with the thesis around creating brands in markets where customers were being overcharged. With a focus on outdoors categories, MarketFleet has 11 brands that will be combined with Olsam, alongside its entire operational team who collectively bring on an additional 15 years+ in Amazon FBA and ecommerce.
The acquisition complements Olsam’s existing expertise following the recent arrival of Steven Wait, previously Head of UK Ecommerce at Mountain Warehouse, a UK based outdoors retailer and the acquisition of Colapz, a camping accessories brand previously featured in Dragons Den.
The consolidation of the aggregator market is still relatively young, though now building up pace. This is yet another example of market consolidation in the Amazon aggregator space, in which Olsam continues to lead the way. Those that can leverage scale and operational capabilities to grow not just via acquisitions, but organically as well through international expansion, paid social, affiliate marketing and D2C, are more likely to succeed in the long run.
We started MarketFleet under the premise that there was an opportunity to manufacture high quality products while eliminating the costs associated with the supply chain between the factories and our customers. Olsam is the perfect company to take MarketFleet forward. They offered fair value for our business and carried over the talented team we have built over the years.
MarketFleet entered the e-commerce space 8 years ago as an incubator for brands. We have always aimed to cut out the fat that pads the retail cost of other online sellers and remove all supply-chain parties between us and our customers. Olsam is the perfect company to take MarketFleet forward. They offered fair value for our business and carried over the small, but talented team we have built over the years.
– Chris Friedland, co-founder, MarketFleet
The acquisition of the brands within MarketFleet represents another significant milestone for Olsam as we continue to deepen our presence in the US and lead the way in the consolidation of the ecommerce space. Olsam’s operational expertise and successful track record continues to attract strong deal flow from the US and we look forward to working with many more US based sellers and aggregators seeking an exit.
– Sam Horbye, Co-founder, Olsam
