Fresh from receiving a capital injection from James Packer’s Ellerston Capital, leading online retailer DealsDirect has acquired online children’s wear retailer The Kids Store for an undisclosed amount.
DealsDirect co-founder Paul Greenberg has made no secret of the fact he intends to use the fresh investment from Ellerston to chase acquisition in what he calls adjacent sectors. The Kids Store buy is the first such deal.
“I’ve always been quoted as saying it’s not the big eating the small, it’s the fast eating the slow,” says Greenberg of his quick buy.
“It’s not big in the scheme of things, but it’s the concept that counts and we think there’s plenty more where that came from.”
“I’ve got about a dozen companies on the radar at the moment and I am in conversation with all of them, at different ages and stages. The Ellerston deal has certainly brought a few more out.”
The Kids Store, which was founded in 2006 by Nicky Coxson, has already been folded into the DealsDirect empire – visitors to thekidsstore.com.au hit a DealsDirect landing page explaining the new ownership and directing consumers to visit the DealsDirect kids and baby categories.
Greenberg says Coxson had actually worked as a marketing consultant to DealsDirect in its early days and his company gave Coxson a hand as she set her business up with sourcing tips and contacts.
Coxson’s recent move to Singapore meant she was struggling to keep up with the company’s growth and it was time to sell.
“These are the kind of deals that you do in a couple of hours – a little bit of argy bargy and we got it over the line,” Greenberg says.
Coxson said in a statement that she expected DealsDirect to build on the customer service levels she worked hard to establish.
“The Kids Store was created to change Australian’s perception of online shopping. It was often seen as unreliable and risky. I like to think The Kids Store played its part in helping to change that perception over the last five years.”
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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