D2C

Maersk is making an e-commerce play

Maersk acquires Visible SCM supply chain logistics fulfillment ecommerce

A.P. Moller – Maersk further bolstered its position in the e-commerce space on Friday when it announced the acquisition of Visible Supply Chain Management (Visible SCM), a U.S.-based business-to-consumer, e-commerce logistics and parcel delivery company. Denmark-headquartered Maersk said the acquisition will allow its B2C segment to reach three-quarters of the U.S. direct-to-consumer market within 24 hours and 95% within 48 hours.

“We have set out to build strong e-commerce logistics...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maersk-is-making-an-e-commerce-play

Brands turn the page back to catalogs as powerful DTC marketing tool

Sears perfected the direct-to-consumer (DTC) model, long before DTC was widely known. Macy’s continued it with its legendary Christmas catalogs, as did many others, but the Sears catalog was the Gold Standard.

While the catalog fell out of favor over the past 15 years or so, it is making a comeback. According to eMarketer, DTC revenues grew about 24% in 2020, and the marketing push by brands is driving much of that.

DTC is the promotion and sale of products to consumers directly by the brands or...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/brands-turn-the-page-back-to-catalogs-as-powerful-dtc-marketing-tool

Brands are killing the wholesale model — can they kill retailers too?

This is an excerpt from Monday’s (3/15) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.

The wholesale model that has driven retail for decades is under increasing pressure. There is a shift occurring, driven by some of the most powerful consumer brands, away from wholesale distribution and toward direct-to-consumer models. 

The first major splash came in November 2019, when Nike (NYSE: NKE) announced it was pulling the brand from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Nike was the tip of the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/brands-are-killing-the-wholesale-model-—-can-they-kill-retailers-too?

Fabric’s rapid rise continues with close of $43M Series A funding round

Commerce platform Fabric has announced the closing of a $43 million Series A funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners with participation from Redpoint Ventures and Sierra Ventures.

The funding round comes just over three months after Fabric closed a $9.5 million seed round at the end of October. Total funding in the company is now $53.5 million, according to Crunchbase. Redpoint led the seed round.

Fabric is a headless — meaning separating the front-end design from the back-end...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fabrics-rapid-rise-continues-with-close-of-43m-series-a-funding-round

E-commerce platform SamCart closes $10M Series A

As quickly as e-commerce grew in 2020, direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce sales grew even more, with some estimates pointing to sales up s much as six times over overall e-commerce. A McKinsey survey of U.S. consumers found that 75% reported a change in their shopping behavior and between 73% and 80% said they will continue their COVID-19-altered shopping habits.

D2C e-commerce sales were expected to exceed $18 billion in 2020, according to eMarketer. E-commerce company SamCart is cashing in on...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/e-commerce-platform-samcart-closes-10m-series-a