As the e-commerce industry is growing rapidly, last-mile delivery is becoming a great challenge for retailers and delivery services. It is one of the major problems faced by e-commerce companies today. Several logistics service providers are emerging to resolve this challenge. One such company is a Swedish startup Budbee.
Based in Stockholm, Budbee was founded in 2016 by Axel Warg. It has introduced a last-mile logistics service for e-commerce businesses dubbed Logtech. As of now, Budbee services over 6.5 million people in Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
Raises €4.8M funding
Now, Budbee has raised €4.8 million funding from H&M Group and Kinnevik. With this recent funding round, the company’s overall funding amount becomes €18.4 million and its valuation comes to almost €100 million. This funding will be used by the company to fuel its expansion to other markets.
“We are very pleased with the cooperation with Budbee, which means that our customers can get home ordered goods in an easier and faster way,” said Erik Karlsson, Investment Manager at the H&M group. “Through our continued investment in the company, we look forward to jointly developing new services that enable an even better customer experience, both online and in store.”
Expansion to the Netherlands
Budbee was quite successful in 2018 and witnessed high growth in Sweden. Also, it tapped into other Nordic regions – Finland and Denmark. After becoming the largest home delivery player in Sweden, this startup is in plans to grow in other markets. In 2019, this Swedish startup is expanding to the Netherlands with the intention to grow in the country.
It aims to tap into the Netherlands as it is an exciting market with similarities to the Nordic countries. The e-commerce market in the country is advanced and benefits last-mile cargo operators with its population density and favourable landscape.
Will launch services in Q4 2019
In an exclusive conversation over an email, Budbee’s spokesperson informed Silicon Canals that the company will launch its services in the Netherlands in Q4 2019. “Quality in operations is one of our core areas and we know that it will take some time to build up the infrastructure needed to meet the high standards we aim for, with that said we can still promise that consumers will be able to use our services in Q4 2019.”
However, the company is yet to confirm where exactly in the Netherlands it will open its offices. The logistics delivery startup has a base of merchants in the country but is looking out for more potential partners and merchants.
Further, Budbee will start the hiring process in the Netherlands for the best home delivery experience. Initially, they may not have all the capabilities as in the headquarters in Stockholm but they will need smart and ambitious people to bring what they have created in the Nordics to the Netherlands.
“We are incredibly pleased that our existing owners continue to believe in the company’s future and we look forward to starting our European expansion.” Says Fredrik Hamilton, CEO and founder Budbee.
Stay tuned to Silicon Canals for more updates in the tech startup world.
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