Dropit Completes $25 Million Funding Round
Dropit, a London, England-based retail technology company that provides transparency into online and store inventories with the goal of more efficient and less wasteful fulfillment, has completed a $25 million Series C funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to $50 million.
Dropit’s technology enables brands to sell in-store inventory online, transform physical locations into last-mile distribution points, and source orders to locations closest to the customer, to help reduce the environmental impact of the retail industry.
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The Dropit technology also consolidates multibrand orders, so customers can receive their purchases in a single shipment or single on-site pick-up for convenience, with the goal of decreasing packaging waste and emissions.
The latest funding round was led by Vault Investments, a first-time investor that will also be joining Dropit’s board. The round was supported by previous investors such as Tiga Investments, Axentia, Sugarbee and others.
The company said the new capital will enable Dropit to expand in the U.S. and grow its sales office team in Austin, Texas, to more than 100 employees and add key hires for open positions across 12 states to support both brand and mall partners.
“Some of the biggest headaches retail faces today boil down to brands keeping their in-store and online inventory separate,” Karin Cabili, chief executive officer and founder of Dropit, said in a statement. “The next wave of retail will require brands to use technology to advance operational efficiency and adapt to the constantly evolving shopping habits of consumers, who have grown accustomed to the convenience provided by online shopping. By unifying online and offline inventories, brands can reduce operational costs and minimize their impact on the environment, while simultaneously speeding up shipping times.”
“The retail industry continues to change, but this is one of the biggest issues I’ve seen the industry face for decades with no real solution to date,” said former chairman and CEO of Macy’s Inc. Terry J. Lundgren, who invested in Dropit and also sits on the company’s board. “This technology breathes new life into the retail ecosystem as a whole.”
According to information from Dropit, “dead inventory” in the U.S. costs retailers approximately $50 billion a year. To a large extent, that waste is caused by brands and retailers silo-ing their online and store inventories, resulting in significant forfeitures of sales. Companies then often resort to routing excess products to landfills or burning them, creating 2.9 million tons of landfill waste a year, leading to increased pollution.
Dropit also indicated that its technology can directly integrate into existing fulfillment management systems, eliminating the need to replace legacy systems.
The six-year-old Dropit has been working with malls and brands in the U.S., Europe and the U.K., and most recently, expanded from fashion into the consumer electronics space.
Dropit’s onboarding process typically takes only a few days. The company said it charges a low setup fee at the start of the engagement, as well as an annual licensing fee for the use of its technology. Dropit also takes a percentage of the gross merchandise value.
The company said it has scaled its operation to serve 250 retailers and brands in the U.S., Europe, the United Kingdom and Canada. Dropit said it works with brands such as L’Occitane, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, Razer and Harrods as well as several mall operators and outlets including Primaris-REIT, Simon Malls, Brookfield Properties, Landsec, McArthurGlen and Savilles.
