They Got Acquired - Going offline

June 9, 2023
​Read on web​

What happens when you take an e-commerce store… offline?

That’s what Adi Gullia did with Grace & Stella, a popular skincare shop that sold to a European private equity firm.

With more than 100,000 subscribers on their email list and an equal number of social media followers, Grace & Stella sold about half of their sales through Amazon.

The other half? B2B partnerships.

To do that, they had to adapt their business model to manage larger, less frequent B2B orders.

But it was worth it, because “this approach significantly enhanced our brand visibility, rapidly introducing our products to millions of new customers who were previously unaware of our offerings,” Guillia said.

He focused on his “fervent” customer base who became passionate about his creations, such as the Dead Sea Mud Mask and Spray All Day, what he called “Cult Favorites.”

Here’s how he grew Grace & Stella before selling it in 2022:

​To sell more skincare products, this e-commerce founder took his online company offline​

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The market is "normalizing"

Empire Flippers, a marketplace for selling online businesses, recently launched its 2023 State of the Industry Report.

There aren't many reports that cover M&A for online businesses specifically, so this one is worth a read.

A few takeaways:

• The market is normalizing after a 2021 peak. One bright spot during the pandemic was its positive affect on many online businesses, both in terms of growth and for acquisitions. But that hot market is now returning to normal levels.
• 2022 was the year for content sites. And among them, display ad businesses have been the most attractive. My guess is that's because it's the closest you can get to a set-it-and-forget-it model.
• We're shifting into a buyers market. That's forcing sellers to be more flexible during negotiations, and consider less-desirable deal structures. For example, the percentage of deals that include earn outs is on the rise.

The report offers lots more insight, including trends on e-commerce and SaaS businesses. You can read it here.

Until next time,

Lexi Grant
Founder & CEO
​They Got Acquired​
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🙌 How we can help

Here's what we offer for founders looking to sell in the next year:

- One-hour course on how to sell your business​

- Help choosing an advisor or broker you can trust

- M&A coaching if you have a potential buyer or want to approach buyers on your own

- A sounding board (free call) if you're not sure where to start

- Reports full of case studies and data about other founders who sold

- Posts covering the basics of how to sell your business​