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Tag: Catch Group

  • Wesfarmers to purchase Catch Group

    Wesfarmers to purchase Catch Group

    Australian retail conglomerate Wesfarmers has entered an agreement to acquire Catch Group for $230 million.

    Should the deal be cleared by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the online marketplace will continue to operate as an independent business unit under the leadership of Kmart Group managing director Ian Bailey.

    Bailey noted Catch has built a successful marketplace underpinned by leading technology and data capabilities, and that these capabilities would be leveraged to grow the capabilities and accelerate the consumer-driven, omni-channel initiatives across department stores Kmart and Target.

    “This will further drive best practice in supply chain, fulfilment and online execution across our brands, including opportunities for Target to secure online fulfilment capability and productivity benefits,” Bailey said.

    “Catch will also benefit from the support of Kmart Group’s scale and capabilities to drive its continued growth in its existing marketplace business.”

    Catch Group managing director and chief executive Nati Harpaz said the Catch team was looking forward to working with Kmart, and that the marketplace would continue to focus on delivering great value and savings to its customers.

    The merger, according to Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott, is consistent with Wesfarmers’ approach to capital allocation, focus on improving its digital and data capabilities, and investment in opportunities adjacent to its existing businesses.

    “Catch Group has a high calibre management team and a leading e-commerce platform with quality fulfilment assets,” Scott said.

    “This acquisition represents an opportunity to accelerate Wesfarmers and Kmart Group’s digital and e-commerce capabilities whilst continuing to invest in the unique customer and supplier proposition provided by Catch Group.”

    Wesfarmers confirmed the acquisition will be funded by existing debt facilities, and is not expected to affect the business’ existing credit ratings. The business completed a demerger from Coles last year, providing further capital for investments, while retaining a minority ownership in the supermarket.

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  • Catch spends millions on trust play

    Catch spends millions on trust play

    Catch Group’s first foray into the world of TV advertising has cost the e-commerce company millions, as it looks to bolster its brand awareness ahead of the imminent arrival of Amazon.

    It’s first TV campaign, which has been airing for two-weeks, is part of a long-term marketing play to first establish Catch’s new marketplace image in the local market before beginning to communicate price and range later down the line.

    Catch Group’s head of marketing, Ryan Gracie, told that the campaign was initially designed alongside the company’s re-brand to drive awareness and begin building trust – something pureplay retailers have struggled with in recent years.

    “Building a brand online is very hard and you have to really take yourself above the line if you want to be a trusted, credible brand,” Gracie said.

    “We’re a pureplay, we don’t exist physically so it’s important for us to exist on these other channels.”

    Gracie was unable to say what the return looks like so far, but said a decision was taken by management on TV knowing that assessing the benefits wouldn’t be clear cut.

    “The hard costs of the media spend is a major inhibitor, because you can’t explicitly measure the impact of it,” he said.

    “What do you get when you advertise on TV? You get a warm and fuzzy feeling, but you have to trust it’s going to work.”

    The ads themselves depict Australians in various scenarios screaming “catch” – in line with the company’s “screaming good deals” philosophy.

    Catch is investing in marketing on both sides of the market at the moment, having also stepped up its B2B marketing since its brand relaunch to encourage more suppliers to jump on its platform.

    Catch Group co-founder Gabby Leibovich told sister site Internet Retailing in August that more than 200 brands have signed up to the marketplace, with 25,000 new SKUs recently added across several new categories.

    Nati Harpaz, CEO of Catch Group, is the chairman of Octomedia, Inside Retail’s parent company.

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