CommerceIQ, a Silicon Valley e-commerce firm that helps retailers enhance on-line gross sales on Amazon and Walmart, is about to accumulate belongings from Seattle startup Ideoclick, based on courtroom paperwork reviewed by Startup.
Ideoclick, a 13-year-old firm that additionally offers e-commerce companies, went into receivership final week.
Receivership is commonly utilized by firms which might be struggling financially. When an organization is positioned in receivership, a trustee is legally appointed to supervise its belongings and enterprise operations.
That trustee, Turning Level, submitted a brand new doc Monday in King County Superior Courtroom outlining a plan for CommerceIQ to pay $475,000 to accumulate buyer lists from Ideoclick, amongst different belongings.
A listening to is scheduled for Nov. 10 to approve the deal, which might enable CommerceIQ to retain Ideoclick’s 59 workers and supply companies to clients by Nov. 30.
“CommerceIQ has entered into an settlement to buy sure Ideoclick belongings that may assist present continuity of companies to Ideoclick clients and keep the employment of a portion of Ideoclick employees,” a CommerceIQ spokesperson stated in a press release to Startup. “CommerceIQ is dedicated to offering Ideoclick clients with the extent of service they count on, and to mitigating any disruption as they enter this necessary season. Clients will now additionally profit from the superior capabilities of CommerceIQ’s retail ecommerce administration platform.”
The newest courtroom submitting particulars a dramatic previous weekend for Ideoclick.
The courtroom appointed Turning Level because the receiver on Oct. 27. The agency decided that Ideoclick wanted to stop a majority of operations on Oct. 31, primarily attributable to issues about making payroll, based on courtroom filings.
The corporate had round $5 million in money as of Oct. 21, courtroom filings present.
A number of workers took to LinkedIn final week to announce that the corporate was shutting down Oct. 31.
However then on Oct. 28, CommerceIQ reached out to Ideoclick and expressed curiosity in buying buyer lists, based on courtroom filings.
Two different events confirmed curiosity in buying Ideoclick’s belongings, however finally the receiver entered into an settlement with CommerceIQ. The corporate agreed to pay $475,000 for Ideoclick’s buyer lists and the rights to obtain funds to the corporate for companies offered on or after Nov. 1. The money will assist Ideoclick keep operations for one month and transition clients to CommerceIQ.
The settlement permits CommerceIQ to conduct interviews with Ideoclick workers for potential employment with CommerceIQ, filings word.
It’s not clear why Ideoclick elected to enter receivership. We reached out to Ideoclick CEO Benjamin Winters for touch upon the most recent filings. We’ll replace if we hear again.
Winters joined the corporate in 2018 after his company was acquired by Ideoclick. He took over as CEO earlier this yr after the departure of co-founder and longtime chief Justin Leigh, who’s now working one other e-commerce companies firm, Workflow Labs.
Leigh co-founded Ideoclick in 2009 with Tom Furphy, who was chairman. Furphy can also be CEO of Replenium, an auto-replenishing retail firm that’s nonetheless working. Leigh and Furphy each beforehand labored at Amazon.
Ideoclick raised $13 million so far, based on PitchBook, together with a $7 million spherical in 2019.
The corporate laid off 40 workers, or one-third of its workforce, earlier this yr.
Trade watchers we spoke with described Ideoclick as caught in a troublesome place within the aggressive marketplace for e-commerce businesses — too small to compete with the massive gamers however too large to be acquired simply.
There are additionally provide chain points and stock issues dealing with Amazon distributors, the businesses that provide Amazon with merchandise. That’s on prime of moderating shopper demand that Amazon highlighted final week in its earnings report, pushed partly by inflation.
“It’s been a really tough yr for Amazon distributors and the businesses, like IdeoClick, who assist them,” stated Jason Boyce, CEO of Avenue7Media, an company that works with third-party retailers on Amazon.
Based in 2012, CommerceIQ raised a $115 million Sequence D spherical earlier this yr, valuing the corporate at greater than $1 billion. Traders embrace SoftBank, Perception Companions, and Seattle’s Madrona Enterprise Group, which lately interviewed CommerceIQ CEO Guru Hariharan on its podcast.
CommerceIQ helps greater than 2,200 shopper manufacturers promote on-line throughout 450 international retailers in 41 international locations. Clients embrace Nestle, Colgate, and Whirlpool.
Ideoclick is amongst a number of startups within the Seattle area, many began by former Amazon workers, that purpose to assist on-line retailers promoting on Amazon and different main platforms. That group consists of Stackline and SoundCommerce. Others akin to InsightLeap, Downstream, and Gradient have been acquired lately.