FedEx signed an agreement to acquire GENCO, one of the largest third-party logistics providers in North America. GENCO processes more than 600 million returned items annually from many of the world’s leading brands. Online sellers may be familiar with GENCO Marketplace as Read more
Two companies that help online merchants with their shipping automation were scooped up this year by Stamps.com, highlighting the importance of ecommerce to the shipping industry. Stamps.com paid $22 million in cash for ShipWorks this month, and it paid $50 million (plus Read more
How fun for an entrepreneur to utter the words, “Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ve been acquired by (fill in the blank).” On Monday, it was Emmett Shear’s turn, announcing on Twitch.tv’s blog that he had sold the business to Read more
Etsy acquired a leading marketplace for handmade goods in France, its sixth acquisition. A Little Market boasts 88,000 designers, 620,000 members, and over 1.9 million creations, with 3.3 million monthly visits and 31 million page views per month, according to the most Read more
Google acquired a UK company called Rangespan that brings suppliers and retailers together and could help it provide more accurate product data in Google Shopping. Industry observers pondered whether the acquisition was a move closer to Google launching a marketplace Read more
Etsy is acquiring Grand St., a marketplace for “creative technology.” Grand St. is a curated marketplace that connects independent hardware makers with buyers. It’s a sort of Quirky-Kickstarter-Etsy mashup that according to Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson shares Etsy’s vision “the Read more
Imagine letting your customers see how your clothing items fit before they make a purchase, possibly boosting conversion rates while lowering returns due to poor fit. That’s the idea behind PhiSix, a computer graphics company just acquired by eBay. The Read more
Amazon has acquired a video gaming studio called Double Helix, fueling speculation that it’s developing a gaming console. Amazon.com has been leveraging its strength in media (books, DVDs, CDs) in the digital space, and just as it producing ebooks, streaming video and Read more
eBay CEO John Donahoe said the company would step up investments in 2014, “particularly in PayPal” (eBay spent $800 million in cash to acquire Braintree last year), but he will have to do it while fending off advances by Carl Read more
