Irish global product development and supply chain company PCH International has acquired ShopLocket, a Canada-based ecommerce platform. The acquisition offers hardware start-ups an entrepreneur-friendly marketplace to launch and sell their products. Together with PCH, this creates the world’s first end-to-end service offering that helps startups to create, develop, manufacture and sell hardware products direct to consumers.
PCH makes its investments through its PCH Accelerator and Highway1 investment vehicles.
PCH Chief Executive Officer and founder Liam Casey said of the deal, “This acquisition puts us at the intersection of hardware and ecommerce, and allows us to authentically communicate with a tech-savvy community. The products will include wearable tech, connected devices and personalised gadgets. This is the future of creating, making and selling products for wearable tech and the Internet of Things.”
ShopLocket is VC-backed and was founded in 2011 by Katherine Hague and Andrew Louis. The company has built up a loyal community of “early adopters” who are keen to purchase new hardware products before they become mainstream. The acquisition also enables PCH and its hardware start-up clients to set up physical pop-up stores.
Other reported deals made by PCH include the November 2013 $11.1m series B funding of Littlebits, a US open hardware start-up and maker of a library of electronic Bits™ modules that snap together with magnets for prototyping, learning and fun. The round was led by True Ventures and Foundry Group and included new investors Two Sigma Ventures and Vegas Tech Fund. Also participating in the round were returning investors Khosla Ventures, Mena Ventures, Neoteny Labs, O’Reilly AlphaTech, Lerer Ventures and new and returning angel investors. Previously, the company raised $3.65m in series A funding and $850,000 in seed funding, bringing its total funding to date to over $15mm. In June 2012, littleBits announced a partnership with global company PCH International to lead its supply chain management.