Major New Developments Including Ownership Changes at MTB Direct
On 8th April 2021, MTB Direct, Australia’s leading online retailer of mountain bike parts and accessories, announced that they have partnered with SPS Commerce and its Australia-based team of experts to advance their supplier collaboration and drive new efficiencies.
Since being founded in 2012 MTB direct has experienced double-digit annual growth and exceeded 350,000 e-commerce orders.
“Mountain biking is an increasingly popular sport in Australia and New Zealand,” shared co-founder Michael Geale.
“Our order volumes were increasing at MTB Direct and we needed to automate our inventory processes to keep pace. Using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is new to our industry, but the benefits to MTB Direct and our suppliers are significant. By automating many of the data entry tasks associated with inventory management and having full visibility of the order process with the help of data from our suppliers, we can rapidly scale our sales to customers, while working collaboratively across the industry.”
MTB Direct has more than 100 suppliers and according to their website a team of about 20 staff.
“SPS is delighted to provide MTB Direct with new efficiencies that will free their staff to focus on what they do best,” said Marco Castelán, Head of Sales – Australia at SPS Commerce. “E-commerce retailers are experiencing high volumes and with a connected supplier base, EDI order fulfilment is faster and more accurate. SPS provides the technology, experts and proven processes to bring EDI to any retail business, without the hassle.”
Major Ownership Changes
Meanwhile in a separate joint media announcement made on 2nd March by MTB Direct and Odyssey Private Equity, it was announced that Odyssey Fund 8, LP (‘Odyssey’) had agreed to acquire a significant stake alongside the founders.
Whilst the terms of the transaction are confidential, Odyssey will be investing further capital to allow MTBD to grow and build on its customer offering.
Jen Geale, CEO and co-founder of MTBD, said “At MTBD, we combine a real passion for the sport and the industry with a well-developed understanding of our customer. Leveraging our background in running physical bike shops, we have been able to create a high-quality digital customer service experience. We are absolutely stoked about what lies ahead for MTBD and look forward to working with the highly-experienced Odyssey team to translate our vision into reality.”
Paul Readdy, Director of Odyssey, said “We are really excited to have the opportunity to partner with passionate founders and management that clearly have a deep knowledge of the market and their business. The growth achieved by MTBD in recent years has been exceptional, demonstrating the business’ unique customer offering and connection with riders”.
The founders of MTBD were advised by Deloitte Corporate Finance.
According to their website, Odyssey Private Equity invests in leading, mid-sized growth companies in Australia and New Zealand, that have the potential to be future leaders in their market segment. Odyssey manages a $275 million fund raised from major financial institutions, including a number of leading Australian superannuation funds.