New French unicorn: ManoMano raises €299.43M at a €2.19B valuation; plans to hire 1,000 employees by 2022-end

Paris-based ManoMano, an online marketplace for DIY, home improvement, and gardening products, announced that it has raised a massive $355M (approx €299.43M) in its Series F round of funding. With this development, the company has now earned the ‘unicorn’ status with a valuation of $2.6B (approx €2.19B).

We had reported back in January 2020, when the company secured €125M in its Series E round of funding. And, to date, it has raised a total of $725M in funding.

Investors

The round was led by new investor Dragoneer Investment Group. In addition, existing investors also participated including Temasek, General Atlantic, Eurazeo, Bpifrance, through its Large Venture funds, Aglaé Ventures, Kismet Holdings, and Armat Group.

Eric Jones, Partner at Dragoneer Investment Group, says, “The pandemic triggered an international craze in the DIY industry, and we believe the trend is here to stay. Consumers across the globe are investing more-and-more in their homes and are now turning to online channels for selection, price, and – importantly – advice. We look forward to supporting ManoMano’s growth in their existing markets and expansion in Europe.”

Brief about the online DIY startup

Launched in 2013 by Philippe de Chanville and Christian Raisson, ManoMano is an online marketplace for DIY, home improvement, and gardening products. It is a website of a community of home and DIY lovers that enables them to exchange tips and advice on their DIY or gardening projects. 

Additionally, ManoMano has also developed technology and customer & seller centric innovations such as Manodvisors, a community of experts who can suggest your purchase decisions as well as help you achieve your DIY projects (2.3M conversations in 2020); ManoFulfillment, a category-specific logistics service opened in France, Spain and Italy; and, dedicated services to empower its sellers’ businesses.

With over 3,600 seller partners and 10 million products, the company currently employs 800 people and operates in 6 markets, including France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the UK.

ManoMano’s fund utilisation for European expansion

Speaking about the utilisation of funds, Philippe de Chanville and Christian Raisson, co-founders and co-CEO of ManoMano, say, “With this new round of funding, our goal is to become the first destination for all DIY, gardening and home improvement projects by offering a first-class experience and advice to our European customers. By giving access to a highly qualified DIY audience and a full range of category-specific services, we also aim to be the preferred partner for our European sellers who aim to grow their online business in our vertical.”

Below are some of the company’s priority projects for expansion:

• Besides France, the company will particularly expand its services in Germany and the UK. This is because, in 2021, these countries have become ManoMano’s second-biggest markets in terms of business and growth.
• ManoMano will also invest in its tech and data to further improve its service offering for customers, seller partners, and construction professionals. Currently, it offers its seller partners access to European markets by developing a European logistics network, customer service support, and empowering them with advertising, sponsored products, and customer insights.
• Scaling its B2B offering, ManoManoPro, to Spain and Italy where it was launched at the end of 2020. The company aims to become the preferred partners for small construction professionals.
• The company will also boost its media investments in Europe to build a strong and differentiated Home Improvement brand across all its countries.
• And lastly, ManoMano will hire 1,000 new talents by the end of 2022, across Europe. The scale-up will also implement new standards of flexibility in its France and Spain hubs, in order to enlarge its talent pools and meet employee expectations regarding quality of life and work-life balance.

Recent growth

According to ManoMano’s statement, 2020 witnessed over 31 per cent e-commerce growth in Western Europe. And during the time, the company managed to achieve growth of more than 100 per cent; achieved €1.2B in sales volume; and, 140 per cent growth for its B2B offering, ManoManoPro.

With over 50 million unique visitors per month across its platforms, the company serves over 7 million customers throughout Europe. Also, in 2020, ManoMano consolidated its European presence and generated 40 per cent of its sales in other European markets, including Germany, the UK, Belgium, Spain, and Italy.

The company is supported by a team of 800 people, including 150 new recruits who were on-boarded over the last six months, working from offices in Paris, Bordeaux, and Barcelona.

Philippe de Chanville and Christian Raisson, say, “Our business is profitable in France for the second year in a row, and we were profitable globally for the first time during the sales peak of 2020. It is based on these solid grounds that we have launched a new funding round to accelerate our investments in ManoMano’s international development and strategic directions.”