Buyers of Amazon and Bol.com sales accounts

In this article, we will explain exactly what aggregators do, what their business plan is and whether they are interesting parties to engage with alone or together with an advisor. Also, we will briefly introduce the best-known aggregators.

What is an aggregator?

Aggregators are a relatively new phenomenon in the e-commerce landscape: they are companies (often with huge investment funds behind them) that set up successful sales accounts on marketplaces such as Amazon, Bol.com, Kaufland and the like.

The American Thrasio is the first party to have successfully applied this on a large scale, which has now earned Thrasio the status of "unicorn". As of media 2021, the business model of aggregators seems to have come to the attention of a wider investor audience, as the (often huge) investment rounds followed in quick succession in 2021. Again, America is leading the way, but Europe now also has several large aggregators in Germany (Berlin Brands Group, Razor Group) and England (Heroes). And in the Netherlands we now know Dwarfs. All together, the aggregators (now more than 50) have raised more than 10 billion in funding in recent years.

What is the business model of aggregators?

The aggregators work as follows: they spend a lot of time looking for the most successful sales accounts. The owners of these approach them. And if this leads to a successful acquisition of the sales account and related intellectual property then the goal is to professionalize it and scale it up as quickly as possible. Thanks to the deep pockets of the aggregator or their partners, they often have more opportunities here than the entrepreneur himself and their cost structure is often much better than that of the entrepreneur.

Aggregators are therefore primarily looking for sales accounts with truly proprietary (unique) products or at least their own brand. Classic "box shippers" do not have an aggregator's interest: value must be added. Local aggregators usually buy sales accounts that are successful on local platforms (think Bol.com sales accounts) with the intention of accelerating their growth through international platforms such as Amazon. So this also requires a hefty dose of e-commerce knowledge. Some aggregators bring this in themselves, while others see a role here for the seller themselves.

With the contacts we have built up over the past few years, we know how the various aggregators work. We can therefore pleasantly put you in touch with the aggregator that suits you best.

Is it interesting to sell your sales account to an aggregator?

As with all great questions in life, the answer is: it depends. Do you have your own product and a successful Bol.com account but are more of a product developer and less of an online marketing & sales specialist? Then selling to an aggregator could be a nice exit. Especially if you remain involved after the takeover as an employee, (small) shareholder and still benefit from future profits ('earnout'). The aggregator can then build on the foundation of your business. And you benefit from the aggregator's professionalization and scaling potential.

Are you good at online marketing & sales yourself but are running into financial obstacles? For growth capital, an aggregator can also be an excellent party to sell to or otherwise work closely with. Keep in mind that almost without exception aggregators go for full acquisitions, where maintaining a minority stake seems to be the maximum feasible.

Do you have access to capital and is your company already fully specialized in sales through the marketplaces and have thus already established an optimized multi-million dollar business? Then the question is what the aggregator still adds (where it can still create value). But when you are ready to take the next step in your life, it can still provide a wonderful exit of course!

Sell account yourself or with an acquisition advisor?

When approached proactively themselves, there are plenty of entrepreneurs who start the conversation with an aggregator themselves. Entrepreneurs who decide to enter the market themselves at some point often do so with an acquisition advisor.

Although you can probably do the process yourself, an acquisition advisor has a broader frame of reference: he or she knows what to look for, what the pitfalls are and what the best market value is. In other words, your advisor will help you reduce the risks and get the maximum value out of your transaction. Especially if you are in contact with foreign aggregators (just get your right), an advisor is worth considering.

Our acquisition advisors also have good lines of communication with multiple aggregators, ensuring you maximize your return!

What to look out for when selling?

Selling a sales account through a stock transaction is relatively easy. If you need to sell via an asset transaction, it can be more difficult. This is because in that case the legal holder of the sales account on the platform has to change. And both Bol.com and Amazon do not guarantee their cooperation on this. Therefore, always sign an acquisition agreement subject to the cooperation of the platform in question.

Also be aware that in the event of an asset transaction, you may still be charged some corporate income tax on your book profit. This can be a setback if you did not count on this.

More tips can be found in our knowledge base on Amazon FBA accounts and Bol.com sales accounts.

Sales account aggregators

As indicated, there are now dozens of aggregators active worldwide. We have briefly explained here the parties that we know are active in the Netherlands and Belgium:

Berlin Brands Group

One of the companies with a longer history. They have been operating direct-to-consumer models since 2005. In other words, they deliver factory-direct to consumers, without the usual wholesale and retail distribution models in between. For several years, Amazon FBA accounts have been part of their D2C strategy. The Berlin Brands Group is one of the larger aggregators in Europe.

Dwarfs

Newcomer from the Netherlands. Started in 2021 with a focus on local sales accounts, with the goal of accelerating the scaling up of locally successful brands and sales accounts through Amazon. 

Heroes

Heroes also acquires sales accounts to optimize and scale them up. They focus on mid-size brands with the best products in a product category, especially on Amazon. Outstanding customer reviews are an important criterion.

Thrasio

The patriarch of the sales account aggregator model. US-based and (as is often the case with first movers) extremely successful with a position the other aggregators won't come close to anytime soon. Closes (very) large deals these days: the last three deals in 2021 involved SafeRest (mattress pads), Wise Owl Outfitters (camping equipment) and Danjor Linens (bedding) for over $100,000,000.

Do you have a successful Bol.com sales account or Amazon sales account yourself? That may be either an account using LvB (Bol) or FBA (Amazon). We will gladly connect you to our contacts at the 50+ aggregators and guide your transaction from A to Z if desired!

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