Hardware retail chain Ace Hardware has paid an undisclosed amount for a majority stake in The Grommet, a US-based e-commerce platform backed by e-commerce firm Rakuten.
Originally known as Daily Grommet, The Grommet operates an online marketplace and review platform that enables customers to access new products created by independent entrepreneurs.
The deal is intended to align Ace’s brick-and-mortar stores with an online product discovery portal.
Ace began working with The Grommet in 2016 as part of a deal to showcase products from the platform in its physical stores. The firm’s analytics show that The Grommet’s customers visit Ace 50% more often than their own Ace Rewards customers, and spend 2.8 times as much.
Rakuten invested in The Grommet in 2012 as part of a series B round of undisclosed size. The company had previously raised $3.4m in a 2010 series A round featuring angel investors including John Landry and Gerry Laybourne.
The Grommet’s co-founders and employees will retain some equity ownership and it will continue to operate autonomously with no change to its strategic direction. It did not disclose whether its equity investors have exited through the deal.
John Venhuizen, Ace Hardware’s CEO, said: “Ace’s expansive supply chain and network of 5,034 stores coupled with The Grommet’s innovative product discovery platform combine to give dreamers, inventors, innovators and makers a sustainable, high-quality path to meaningful growth, without having to bow down to the altar of Amazon.”
– Image courtesy of The Grommet, Inc.