Kroger expected to acquire Boxed amid fierce competition with rivals

Boxed had last raised money in 2016 at a valuation of USD 470 million, according to Giddy.

After raising USD 100 million in January 2016, Boxed has more recently pushed into its own private brands. Box’s private label currently accounts for about 20% of its about USD 100 million in sales. With millions of users, Boxed’s average customer purchases between seven and 10 items per order, higher than typical for ecommerce.

Its business-facing unit, which accounts for about 20% of sales, has grown at a triple-digit clip and accounts for almost half its new business, with anchor clients including Charity Water, Delta, United Airlines and Snap.

Boxed took off as a digital alternative to stores such as Costco, BJ’s and Sam’s Club, offering about 1,600 different bulk goods from paper towels to potato chips. By signing exclusive deals with brands to only carry one of a certain type of item, Boxed was able to lock in prices more attractive to the company than those many retailers get, allowing the company to shun membership fees and provide free delivery across the continental US on orders of more than USD 49.

Boxed has its own warehouse and fulfillment capabilities that could be combined with an acquirers’, turning brick-and-mortar stores into distribution centers. Boxed had emerged as one of the largest and fastest-growing independent companies in retail, a group led by Instacart, the startup valued at USD 3.4 billion that signed its own partnership with Kroger in recent months.