Are you looking to sell your Amazon business? Then Amazon aggregators must ring a bell for you. In this article, I'll cover the what's, how's, dos and dont's and, also, a complete Amazon aggregators list.
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As of August 2023, more than 100 Amazon seller aggregators are operational worldwide, and this figure is anticipated to rise in the ensuing months. Out of these, 55 aggregators have declared funding rounds, with 31 of them securing $100 million or more. I know, it's nuts. That's why everybody was chatting about the “Amazon aggregator bubble”. So 2023 has seen the first M&A on the market with SellerX acquiring Elevate Brands or Suma merging with D1 Brands
While a significant portion of the leading Amazon aggregators are based in the United States, there are also firms operational in countries like Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey, UAE & the United Kingdom.
What is the Role of an Amazon Aggregator?
An Amazon aggregator gets funds from investors to acquire small / mid / large Amazon brands with the aim of transforming them into more lucrative ventures. How? Not magic, but “touching levers”. That's why, during the due-dillingence process, it's important for them to find quick wins such as better margins negotiable with the manufacturer, PPC scaling improvements, new markets where the product might have interest, etc.
These entities bank on their extensive resources and knowledge selling on Amazon (with leadership often comprising former Amazon sellers, ex-Amazon employees, startup experts, and leading business executives) to escalate brands to global prominence and make them BIG names and bucks.
Prominent figures in this space, such as Thrasio, Berlin Brands Group, Perch, Heyday or SellerX marketcaps' are huge, with Thrasio setting the bar back in 2022 with a crazy marketcap of $13B before they had to lay-off workers due to post-COVID adjustments and the 2023 tech layoffs.
The concept of aggregators isn't new in eCommerce, but Amazon emerged as the most sought-after marketplace, especially before and during the COVID era. The shift to online shopping during the pandemic and a surge of newcomers on Amazon underpin this trend.
The main idea behind Amazon aggregators is to identify Amazon brands on the grow whose products have potential across other platforms or as direct-to-consumer (DTC) items.
What's the Amazon Aggregator business model?
An Amazon FBA aggregator primarily focuses on purchasing established small Amazon ventures and then amplifies them to achieve broader reach and increased revenue.
Aggregators consider various types of business frameworks: Private Label, Proprietary and Wholesale. Businesses offering unique products, DTC, niche products, micro niche products or those into a specialized market segment are also in their point of view, especially if they consistently deliver substantial profits.
In my experience, the problem during the first era of Amazon aggregators was that they were led by investors who focused on due diligence and buying any type of brand and product. But, if you are looking for profitability, you have to buy strong brands, internationalizable, solid products and, in addition, have a team of seniors who can scale the account in the future so that your net profit is x2 or more. That has changed in the last months, so they're focusing on profitability, not just acquisitions.
I mean, just look at the next video thumbnail to see how crazy it was “Refer a Seller, get a TESLA“, that is Acquco's referral program
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How Does an Amazon Aggregator Evaluate a Brand?
Aggregators don't merely acquire any business in hopes of profitability. They are on the lookout for superior brands that offer potential for exponential growth. You know on Amazon everything comes to the brand and, most of it, a STRONG brand.
Every aggregator employs its unique criteria to ensure the brand and its offerings meet stringent standards but their common points they're looking for are:
- Fulfillment Model: businesses under the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) model are highly valued due to their logistical convenience and the added perk of Prime shipping.
- Business Type: aggregators generally focus on private-label brands or manufacturers with proprietary products. Registration under the Amazon Brand Registry, which offers trademark safeguarding, is also a must to avoid fake resellers and / or listing hijackings
- Profit Margins: aggregators are looking for a minimum annual net profit starting at $200,000, with some setting the bar at $500,000. Typically, net margins hover around 15%, though some might settle for as low as 10%
- Amazon Sales: many prefer brands with at least 80% of sales routed through Amazon
- Number of SKUs: higher earnings from fewer SKUs is preferred. I've seen cases where a whole Seller account had 3,000 SKUs and the aggregator was only interested in 5 of their ASINs
- Market Niche: some FBA aggregators have specialized interests, trendy products or highly seasonal items
- Product Reviews: high ratings and a substantial review count indicates the product's quality. And, of course, they'll also look for the reviews authenticity using AI and tools such as Fakespot to ensure there are no future penalisations
- Amazon reputation and performance: striked Amazon Seller accounts or poor performance accounts will be automatically discarded.
Long story short: aggregators look for private brands, reliable products, scalable accounts…
Complete list Amazon aggregators
This type of companies spring up like mushrooms, especially during the COVID and immediate post COVID era. Here's the whole list (alphabetical order)
10 Club
- Founded in: Bangalore (India), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Accel Club
- Founded in: Wilmington (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Acquco
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2020
- Valuation: $800M
- Employees: +30
Aimgroup
- Founded in: Gent (Europe) , 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Alpha Rock Capital
- Founded in: Dover (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Amazing Brands
- Founded in: Cologne (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: +10
Ambr Group
- Founded in: Cologne (Europe), 2023
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: +20
- Result of the 2023 merge between D1 Brands and Suma
Benitago Group
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2016
- Filed for bankruptcy: Filed for Chapter 11 on September 2023, owning $85 to it's main investor CoVenture
- Valuation: $150M
- Employees: Unknown
Berlin Brands Group
- Founded in: Berlin (Europe), 2005
- Valuation: +$200M
- Employees: +400
Boopos
- Founded in: Madrid (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Boosted Ecommerce
- Founded in: Los Angeles (USA), 2020
- Valuation: $470M
- Employees: +20
Branded
- Founded in: Berlin (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: $800M
- Employees: +90
Cap Hill Brands
- Founded in: Seattle (USA), 2020
- Valuation: $150M
- Employees: +30
D1 Brands
- Founded in: Brooklyn (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: +20
- Merged: with D1 Brands in 2023 to create the Ambr Group
Diverge Group
- Founded in: United Kingdom (UK), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Dragonfly Commerce
- Founded in: Boston (USA), 2019
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: +50
Dwarfs
- Founded in: Amsterdam (Europe), 2021
- Valuation: $40M
- Employees: +10
eBrands
- Founded in: Finland (Europe), 2021
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Elevate Brands
- Founded in: New York, 2017
- Valuation: $250M
- Employees: +60
- Acquired: by SellerX in 2023
Evenflow
- Founded in: Mumbai (India), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Excite Foundry
- Founded in: London (UK), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Factory14
- Founded in: Luxemburg (Europe), 2021
- Valuation: $270M
- Employees: +20
Flummox
- Founded in: Switzerland (Switzerland), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Flywheel Commerce
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Forum Brands
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2020
- Valuation: $140M
- Employees: +20
Foundry Brands
- Founded in: Location Unknown but it was founded in the USA, 2021
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: –
Goja
- Founded in: Florida (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Greenhaus.io
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Growve
- Founded in: Florida (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Heroes
- Founded in: London (UK), 2020
- Valuation: $330M
- Employees: +20
Heyday
- Founded in: San Francisco (USA), 2020
- Valuation: $795M
- Employees: +50
Inflection Brands
- Founded in: USA, 2020
- Valuation: –
- Employees: Less than 10
Intrinsic
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Mantaro
- Founded in: Vancouver (Canada), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Marketplace Powerbrands
- Founded in: Munich (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Mensa House of Brands
- Founded in: Bangalore (India), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Merama
- Founded in: Mexico City (Mexico), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Merx
- Founded in: Stuttgart (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Mohawk
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Moonshot Brands
- Founded in: Oakland (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Next Century Capital
- Founded in: Texas (USA), 2019
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Nuvocom
- Founded in: Istambul (Turkey), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Olsam
- Founded in: London (UK), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: +10
One Retail Group
- Founded in: London (UK), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Opontia
- Founded in: Dubai (United Arab Emirates) , 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Orange Brands
- Founded in: Germany (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Pattern
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2018
- Valuation: $160M
- Employees: +30
Perch
- Founded in: Boston (USA), 2019
- Valuation: $909M
- Employees: +80
Powerhouse 91
- Founded in: Gurgaon (India), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Profound Commerce
- Founded in: Texas (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Razor
- Founded in: Berlin (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: $120M
- Employees: +100
Rio Grande
- Founded in: Mexico City (Mexico), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Scythia
- Founded in: United Kingdom (UK), 2021
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
SellerX
- Founded in: Berlin (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: $150M
- Employees: +60
Sorfeo
- Filed for bankruptcy: on January 2024, they filed for Chapter 7
- Founded in: McLean (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Spring Commerce
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Unknown
Stryze Group
- Founded in: Berlin (Europe), 2021
- Valuation: $100M
- Employees: Unknown
Suma Brands
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
- Merged: with D1 Brands in 2023 to create the Ambr Group
Tapuya Brands
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2021
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
TCM Digital Solutions
- Founded in: Herzliya (Israel), 2016
- Valuation: $90M
- Employees: +100
The Mothership
- Founded in: London (UK), 2021
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Thrasio
- Founded in: Walpole (USA), 2018
- Valuation: $3,4B
- Employees: +500
- First unicorn in this category
- November 2023: preparing for bankruptcy
Umbrella Fund
- Founded in: Dallas (USA), 2019
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: Less than 10
Una Brands
- Founded in: Singapore (Singapore), 2020)
- Valuation: $100M
- Employees: Less than 10
Unybrands
- Founded in: Miami (USA), 2020
- Valuation: $130M
- Employees: +10
Valoreo
- Founded in: Mexico City (Mexico), 2020
- Valuation: $130M
- Employees: +20
Win Brands Group
- Founded in: New York (USA), 2016
- Valuation: $270M
- Employees: +40
Wonder Brands
- Founded in: Mexico City (Mexico), 2020
- Valuation: $100M
- Employees: +50
YABA
- Founded in: Barcelona (Europe), 2020
- Valuation: Unknown
- Employees: +10
The list was made putting together information from the companies own websites, from Marketplacepulse and Dealroom
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About the author
Jordi Ordonez
I work as an independent eCommerce and Amazon consultant.
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