RubiBrands of Turkey clinches record $23M in seed round
first e-commerce brands investment company, RubiBrands, has managed to raise $23 million in a seed round.
The investment received by the hypergrowth marketplaces-focused e-commerce roll-up company marks the largest seed funding in the Turkish e-commerce landscape.
RubiBrands has so far acquired seven brands, diversifying sourcing to reduce dependence on the Asian supply-chain and focusing on hyper-growth marketplaces and Amazon.
The seed funding round was led by investors from the U.S. and Europe, including JAM Fund (VC firm launched by Tinder founder Justin Mateen), Atempo Growth, D4 Ventures, Esas Ventures, Alarko Ventures and angel investors from Softbank, Lazada and Merama.
Co-founded by private equity and ecommerce veterans Yetkin Güneş, Irtek Uraz, Berkay Tulay and Emre Ekmekçi, RubiBrands is the first roll-up company to launch out of Turkey.
It focuses on acquiring predominantly Amazon brands sourced from Central Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) with the aim to grow them in hyper-growth marketplaces.
There are about 100 companies in the world that implement this business model, which is still very new.
The model is called Amazon Aggregator or Roll-Up because these companies are largely focused on Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), a service that helps businesses grow by providing access to Amazon’s logistics network.
Amazon aggregators help enhance the Amazon ecosystem by buying small seller businesses and scaling them into profitable, international brands.
Stressing the growth of Turkish brands in the global market, Güneş said: “As we saw in Davos this week, there is an intensive effort to reduce the world’s dependence on China for supply and logistics. In this environment, Turkey, which has been strengthening its position as a manufacturer and exporter, has also raised the quality perception of Turkish brands in the global market with its Turquality program.”
He is referring to the state-sponsored scale-up program meant for businesses to transform themselves into global players.
“The prioritization of e-exports as a state policy and the fact that Istanbul Airport has become a regional leader in the field of air cargo and logistics with its investment has enabled Turkey to become an export partner of Europe and America.”
“We acquire top brands that are shielded from bona fide 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,” said RubiBrands Chief Investment Officer Irtek Uraz.
“This allows for a non-disruptive know-how transfer and continuous product innovation. 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,” he noted.