Swedish e-commerce retailer Babyshop acquires its competitor AlexandAlexa to form a leader in the premium segment for children’s online retail called The Luxury Kids Group, which is expected to reach four times the size of its closest European competitor.
Babyshop was established in 2006 in a basement in Stockholm and the company now sells in over 50 countries, primarily in Northern Europe. AlexandAlexa, with its headquarters in London, has taken a leading position for kids’ clothes online in the English speaking world. The new group will cover Northern Europe and most English speaking countries and is expected to reach a turnover of over €40m next year, with 2 million monthly visitors.
Babyshop acquired the Swedish online store Oii Design last year and is now the leading Nordic net-a-porter for kids. But it doesn’t stop there. They are on a mission to grow beyond the Nordic countries; AlexandAlexa originates from the UK but has already entered markets such as US and Australia.
© Noa Noa Miniature by Anders Hald, one of the brands stocked at Babyshop.com
To enable the acquisition of AlexandAlexa, Babyshop has raised capital through a share issue backed by Verdane Capital VII, a fund that has been a shareholder in Babyshop since 2010.
Babyshop was established in 2006 by Marcus and Linn Tagesson with a vision of building the best online kids store in the Nordics. Today Babyshop is a leading player in the global market and has a flagship store in Stockholm, Sweden. The company has won awards including ‘The Year’s E-commerce Award’ at the Nordic E-commerce Summit in 2011 and ‘The Best Online Fashion Boutique for Children’s Clothing’ at the Habit Fashion Awards in 2012.
“Fashion for children is one of the fastest growing segments on the internet and together with AlexandAlexa we will be four times the size of our closest European competitor. This gives us an excellent stepping stone for future expansion.”
Marcus Tagesson, Co-Founder of Babyshop.
AlexandAlexa was founded seven years ago by husband and wife duo Alex Theophanous and Alexa Till, with the aim of creating an online shopping destination offering the world’s best kids’ brands all in one place.
In December 2010, Alexandalexa.com received an investment of £1.5m from venture capital firm MMC Ventures to drive international expansion. According to the Sunday Times, founders Alex Theophanous and wife Alexa Till then sold 80% of the company in 2011 to investment management firm Tiger Global. Babyshop acquired AlexandAlexa end of last year, December 2014. To our understanding Alex Theophanous has been brought back to secure and strengthen AlexandAlexas’s identity.
Both Babyshop and AlexandAlexa hold the rights to premium brands such as Burberry, Bugaboo and Fendi in their respective geographies. The new group will continue to focus on high quality and outstanding customer service. For now, Babyshop and Alexandalexa will run alongside each other.
In a rapidly changing and confusing myriad of online stores, with brands coming and going as well as stores striving to survive, it’s good to see that there’s a firm belive in the kids fashion industry from serious investors. Financial backing from larger companies means more stability and the opportunity to grow when needed. This can create a much needed solid platform for not only established high end brands but also serving as a launch pad for emerging design talents.
Dubbed ‘Net-a-porter for under 14s’ AlexandAlexa.com won Best Online Fashion Retailer in the Style Awards 2014
“This is an amazing opportunity to develop two strong global brands. I see significant opportunities in international development, investing in our people, processes and partnerships with our suppliers. We aim to be design-led, stylish and innovative, but also customer focused. I believe these will be our strengths and where we plan to invest most. All in all, 2015 will be the start of a new chapter for AlexandAlexa and BabyShop that I am very excited to lead.”
Magnus Fredin, CEO of Babyshop.
Source: savvyjane.com and verdanecapital.com