ASX-listed China-based e-commerce solutions provider, eCargo, has acquired Australian e-commerce consultancy, Amblique.
Founded in 1999, Amblique is an Australian e-commerce service provider of omni- channel strategies, retail practice, and site optimisation services to help retailers and brand owners, with clients including Cotton On, Michael Hill International, Sportscraft, Matt Blatt, and Tarocash among numerous others.
The acquisition for A$6 million will be fully funded from eCargo’s existing cash reserves and expected to be earnings accretive in FY2015.
Amblique will continue to operate under its current name as a wholly owned subsidiary of eCargo Enterprise.
The existing Amblique management team will remain in place, led by Amblique founder, Justus Wilde, and MD, Jason Byrne.
Justus Wilde, founder of Amblique, said the company is hugely excited about the opportunities this new partnership will enable for its customers, including eFulfilment, global expansion enablement, and China market entry expertise.
“E-commerce success is driven by customer experience. We are now able to combine our market leading Demandware storefront solution with logistics and marketplace automation on a global scale. Every merchant is chasing growth and we expect the China eCommerce market to be five times larger than the summation of the next 5 markets by 2020. Our China entry solution will make this opportunity accessible and provide local expertise and resources,” Wilde said.
Amblique will remain focused on providing Demandware solutions to branded manufacturers and retailers while expand its Demandware practice to service clients in Australia, New Zealand, China, South East Asia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
John Lau, executive chairman of eCargo, said the combination of Amblique’s Demandware and enterprise solution expertise in Australia and New Zealand with eCargo’s e-commerce platform solutions, China eCommerce, and global supply chain capabilities will immediately enable eCargo to provide an expanded service and solution offer to its existing Australian retail and fashion customers.
Christoper Lau, CEO of eCargo, said Amblique brings a strong Australian-based team to enhance its ability to deliver e-commerce enterprise solutions to our brand principals in the region.
“Justus and Jason have built a great organisation serving many well-known retail and fashion brands in Australia and helping these brands develop and expand their online sales.
“We are very pleased to have Justus, Jason and the Amblique team become a part of our ecosystem at eCargo,” Lau said.
The acquisition follows the recent announcement by eCargo of a strong quarterly revenue performance having generated revenue of A$3.7 million, well ahead of forecast revenue of A$2.3 million for FY2014.
