Why We Invested in Channable, The Ultimate Feed Management Tool

Partech is thrilled to announce we’re leading Channable’s $60M Series B. This marks the sixth investment of our fund Partech Growth II, and our second investment in the Netherlands. 

Channable is the ultimate global provider of e-commerce feed management and PPC automation software for digital marketers, brands, and online retailers. Through centralizing, cleaning, and organizing product data from multiple sources such as ERP, PIM, WMS, suppliers and more, their SaaS platform allows customers to build product data feeds for advertising and marketplace channels, as well as tailor the feed correctly for each of these channels. The outcome is powerful: businesses can deliver the right information to the right channel at the right time, efficiently and at scale.

Founded in 2014 by Rob van Nuenen, Stefan Hospes and Robert Kreuzer, Channable has already gained the trust of over 6,000 customers, and currently processes more than 55 billion items a day via thousands of global channels including comparison websites, marketplaces, search engines and social networks.

Why Multichannel Ecommerce Software?

Feed management is becoming increasingly important as e-commerce grows and becomes increasingly complex. We strongly believe the proliferation of channels presents additional selling opportunities for merchants, making software like Channable strategic for growth.

The first wave of e-commerce was just getting products online. We saw companies such as Shopify, Bigcommerce and Wix mark themselves out as leaders through lowering the barriers for merchants to sell online.

We’re now in the second wave of e-commerce, dominated by multichannel distribution. Google Shopping disrupted the status quo in the 2010s and became a must-have feed destination. Now marketplaces dominate online retail. Verticalized marketplaces are popping up everywhere as large retailers launch marketplaces. Finally, the emergence of social commerce with Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, as well as embedded commerce further increases the number of channels.

In addition to the growth of e-commerce and number of channels, the channels are getting more complex. An example is Facebook tripled the number of attributes required to list a product on their marketplace between 2017 and 2020. These attributes are not even the same ones required by other giants such as Google and Amazon. Similarly, selling via marketplaces is increasingly difficult for merchants as third-party models begin to dominate. Third-party marketplace models force merchants to maintain consistent product information, real-time inventory levels and fulfilment options across multiple channels and geographies. This is extremely complex to do operationally without a dedicated solution.

Enter Channable.

Channable is the European leader for feed management. Through a single pane of glass, marketers and marketplace managers can control all their destination channels, add new ones and start selling more. Channable allows merchants to reach their customers wherever they are.

Rob, Robert, and Stefan have done an impressive job. They’ve built the product for automation, ease of use and scalability. Throughout our interactions we were thoroughly impressed by the mutual trust and respect they have for each other, as well as their wider team. Engaging with the founders as well as visiting the Utrecht HQ, we witnessed first-hand their commitment to a strong company culture and an open environment.

Channable is a perfect fit for Partech Growth’s investment thesis in e-commerce enablement. We were particularly excited with the following qualities of Channable:

•       Accessible to SMBs – exceptional UI/UX built for ease of use
•       Proven at scale and powerful enough for enterprise – we were blown away by the use cases of global brands deploying Channable on thousands of channels and hundreds of countries
•       Consistently outstanding customer feedback – demonstrated through industry leading NPS scores and exceptional stickiness
•       Highly engaged leadership with the product vision to continually drive more value to customers
•       100% software, with automation at its core, empowering users (0% professional services)
•      Track record of fast growth

What’s in Store for Channable?

Channable is looking to the future, aiming at further enabling cross-border commerce for merchants by building the best possible product on the market. They will develop innovative features, continue adding new channels, and expand geographically.

To support these expansion efforts, the company has tapped industry veteran Michael O’Neal to oversee their US expansion from a their recently opened New York office. As VP of Business Development, Michael will lead US sales efforts. In the coming months, they will be recruiting several talents to fuel international growth and product expansion.

Channable has the potential to become a global category leader – and this is exactly what Partech Growth was looking for. We are tremendously excited to back this top team and support them on their continued success!

The Partech Growth Team.