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The rise of e-commerce roll-ups

In the past, roll-ups were mainly proceeded by private equity firms, large conglomerates, and institutional buyers whereby companies acquire businesses in the same market and merging them under a single entity to scale.

Today, there are new companies that consolidate independent private label brands with decent revenue. They are the aggregators of e-commerce brands. Unlike marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers to acquire or sell off their brands (e.g. Flippa and Exchange Marketplace by Shopify), roll-up platforms are operational and resourceful. They:

• have a thesis around e-commerce product categories they want to acquire
• search across marketplaces like Amazon and Shopify
• find winners and merge these companies
• operate like a private equity firm, may fund and invest in buyout businesses
• platform-agnostic or vertical-focused
• grow them collectively using built-in technology, infrastructure, data analytics, operational expertise, capital, and economies of scale
• (📥 Full version) 3 more specific strategies on how aggregators operate and scale

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Key players around the world

• Amazon-focused aggregators: Thrasio (made $100 million in profits, acquired more than 100+ brands), Heyday, Perch, and Branded
• Shopify aggregator: OpenStore
• Home living & consumer electronics roll-up: Berlin Brands Group
• Asia-Pacific focused consolidator: Una Brands (raised US$40 million) targets acquisition on Tokopedia, Lazada, Shopee, and Rakuten using a platform-agnostic approach by focusing on Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce.
• (📥 Full version) 1 more company that focuses on the Amazon platform
• (📥 Full version) 5 more companies from emerging market