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Amazon purchases its first fleet of planes To expand its growing air freight network, Amazon has purchased 11 Boeing 767-300 planes from struggling airline services Delta and WestJet. Amazon Air, previously named Prime Air, launched back in 2016, but all airplanes up to this point have been leased. With this purchase, Amazon sets itself up to be a credible competitor in terms of logistics. “Our goal is to continue delivering for customers across the US in the way that they expect from Amazon, and purchasing our own aircraft is a natural next step toward that goal,” said Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air. “Having a mix of both leased and owned aircraft in our growing fleet allows us to better manage our operations, which in turn helps us to keep pace in meeting our customer promises.” Visa and Plaid call off $5.3 billion merger On Tuesday, payments company Visa and fintech startup Plaid announced that they will no longer pursue their $5.3 billion merger following a legal battle with the US Department of Justice. Back in November 2020, the Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, claiming that the merger with Plaid would limit competition in the payments industry. The DOJ argued that Visa could potentially hold a monopoly over debit transactions, and that stopping this deal would prevent said monopoly. Roughly a year ago, Visa announced its plans of acquiring Plaid for $5.3 billion, which nearly doubled the startup’s last valuation. On Tuesday, the entire deal came crashing to a halt. According to the two companies, the decision to end the merger was mutual.
Google Ads begins identity verification Since March 2020, Google has been dropping hints about the Google Ads team requiring some sort of verification of Google Ads accounts. As of late, some Google Ads users have reported emails stating that identity verification will require completion by February 2021. One advertiser posted a screenshot of the notice on Twitter that reads, “You’ve been selected to complete identity verification for your Google Ads account. You must start verification by February 06, 2021. Your ads will continue to serve while we review your information. If you don’t complete verification, your account will be paused.” According to these emails, advertisers will need to submit their legal name and address to ensure “a safe and trustworthy ad experience for users.” Google is sending out these identity verification requests in waves, so advertisers should be on the lookout in the coming weeks for their verification requests. Poshmark jumps more than 130% as it begins trading On Thursday, shares of Poshmark increased by 130% within 24 hours of the initial valuation. On Wednesday, Poshmark priced its IPO at $42 per share, giving it an initial valuation upwards of $3 billion, but the stock began trading at $97.50 per share on Thursday. Poshmark is going public as the 2021 IPO market begins to heat up as several other companies, including payments company Affirm, made their public debuts this week as well. Poshmark, which lists lists Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Facebook, Shopify, TJ Maxx and Walmart among its competitors, filed to go public back in December. After a record-breaking year, due largely to a flood of demand following the pandemic’s closure of many retail stores, Poshmark reported $192.8 million in revenue in the first three quarters of 2020, an increase of 28% from the same period last year. E-commerce gains expected after record online sales over 2020 holiday According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. online purchases over the 2020 holidays grew 32.2% from 2019, totaling a record $188.2 billion. In the month of November, e-commerce sales reached $100 billion for the first time ever. In another first, online spending exceeded $1 billion daily during the 2020 holiday season and 50 days topped $2 billion, Adobe said. Retailers like Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods that offer curbside and other pickup options for online orders saw even stronger sales over the holidays, according to a separate analysis by Salesforce. Their digital sales were up an average of 49% from a year earlier, compared with growth of around 28% for the retail businesses that didn’t have curbside pickup and similar options, Salesforce found. As shoppers continue to remain at home and shop online during the pandemic, this trend in spending is expected to continue well into 2021. |
For sale is a unique and established subscription box business in the health and fitness niche. Launched in 2015, the business has grown to a considerable size by selling monthly subscription boxes filled with fitness equipment, workout plans, food products, and supplements – all designed to help customers reach their fitness goals.
The products offered consist of three variants: Men’s, Women’s and Protein boxes, each changing monthly. The brand’s appeal is further demonstrated through social media, amassing c.179K social media followers, and a mailing list with c.150K subscribers.
Some key highlights:
- MRR of $224,000
- Strong compounded annual MRR growth of 48.9% between 2017 and 2020(e)
- 7,800 current active subscribers
- Roughly 180,000 social media followers
- Low churn for a subscription box business of roughly 12%
Request a prospectus from the link above to learn more.
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OTHER NEW LISTINGS
- Unique app that exclusively provides lead assignment on a well-known CRM tool
- The site has increasing ARPU of c.$40 over the LTM, coupled with rising net margins over the same period
- A paying customer base of c.60 users, growing at a c.7.2% CMGR over the LTM, with the business now generating c.$2.7K MRR
Yearly net profit: $15,000
Asking price: $79,000
Until next week!
The FE International Team