Budget retailer Five Below has acquired the assets of Hollar, a US-based e-commerce platform that has raised more than $77m from investors including mass media group Comcast.
The deal came after multiple sources told Axios earlier in the week that the company was expected to close down soon. Neither Hollar nor Five Below have disclosed details of the purchase price.
Founded in 2015, Hollar runs an online store that sells home décor, toys, beauty products and kitchen items starting from $1 each. The business model relied on customers buying multiple items at once, but a source told Axios the company never managed to attract that level of purchasing.
Hollar’s website and mobile app are expected to close while some employees will join Five Below, which acquired the company to expand its e-commerce and fulfilment operations.
The news comes after another budget online retailer, Brandless, revealed earlier this week that it is also shutting down operations. Hollar’s most recent funding involved it securing $30m from unnamed investors in 2017 according to a regulatory filing.
Comcast’s corporate venturing arm, Comcast Ventures, had joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Greycroft Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Index Ventures, Forerunner Ventures and Pritzker Group Venture Capital in the company’s $30m series B round the year before.
Hollar had previously received $17.5m from investors including Index Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Forerunner Ventures and Bam Ventures across its seed and series A rounds.
