Marketplace startup Boulevard closes 2.5 million

British marketplace seller and tech startup Boulevard has raised 2.5 million euros in seed capital. The company, only having started their supply chain services last year, will use the funds to diversify and further develop their in-house software. The investment comes at a time when marketplaces continue to thrive in a post-pandemic landscape.

Marketplace merchant and supply chain platform

With their pricing algorithm and supply chain and fulfilment services, Boulevard wants to bridge the gap between independent sellers, manufacturers and online marketplaces. The supply chain platform is also a marketplace merchant in its own right, selling more than 150 thousand products across 9 categories, which are shipped to over 20 countries. The company is one of Amazon’s top third party sellers, selling anything from pet supplies to children’s toys and home appliances.

Boulevard wants to become ‘global marketplace super seller’

The investment came from British venture capital fund Fuel Ventures in the form of 2.2 million pounds, or 2.5 million euros. In their own words, Boulevard will use the seed money for ‘aggressive expansion’. Investments will go into further diversifying its products and advancing its in-house algorithm. By doing this, the company says it wants to add products faster, identify new product opportunities and enter additional marketplaces.

“Our tech, Eiger, ensures operational excellence for all aspects of online selling and the fulfilment of orders, and we’re using sophisticated algorithms to test product popularity, monitor stock levels and dynamically fulfil orders within competitive timeframes,” founder and managing director Dominic Portman says. “We’re now planning on advancing the Eiger platform to enable us to break into new markets and become a leading, global online marketplace super seller.”

Marketplaces are popular post-pandemic

Boulevard only launched their supply chain solutions last year. Originally, it started out as a marketplace seller of costumes and partywear under the name Fancy Dress Worldwide in 2016. But when Covid-19 hit, the need for dressing up disappeared and the business decided to diversify.

The pandemic was not all bad for business, though, as marketplaces continue to thrive. Over 40 percent of post-pandemic online spending happens on marketplaces, according to Wunderman Thompson’s most recent global consumer study. And so, marketplaces take a big piece of the pie that is the post-pandemic boom in ecommerce.

Over 100 million expected revenue in 5 years

Still, the competition for marketplace sellers can be tough. Boulevard says it wants to do the heavy lifting for these brands. “We started life as a single category ecommerce business that we quickly scaled through the power of our own tech, Eiger,” says Portman. “The lessons we learnt on how to sell online as an ecommerce business opened up our expertise and tech to help others to do the same.”

As of now, Boulevard tracks almost 7 million euros in revenue. In five years’ time, the company expects to reach over 100 million euros worth of turnover.