Amazon Aggregator Thrasio Prepares For Bankruptcy

Thrasio, which acquires third-party sellers on Amazon, is preparing to file for bankruptcy as it grapples with a post-pandemic slump in online spending, the Wall Street Journal reported. From a report: Thrasio has been advised by New York-based consulting firm AlixPartners in recent years and their retail turnaround professional Holly Etlin is currently working with the company, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. In 2021, Thrasio said it had raised $1 billion in a funding round led by private equity firm Silver Lake, taking its total funding to $3.4 billion.

From E-Commerce Empire to 'For Sale' Sign

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Thrasio seems to be taking the 'go big or go home' mantra a bit too seriously. They've been collecting Amazon third-party sellers like Pokémon cards, only to find out they're not all shiny Charizards. Now, they're preparing for bankruptcy, which is the corporate equivalent of "Oops, my bad!"

It's like watching a high-stakes game of Monopoly where Thrasio landed on Boardwalk equipped with a hotel, but oops – they forgot they don't own it. Maybe they were aiming for a 'get-out-of-jail-free' card

Re:

[Pinky's Brain]

Slow and steady might get them an 8 digit bank account after decades of hard work, going big got them there in years.

The pensioner muppets ultimately supplying most of that money, they be fucked.

What?

[Errol backfiring]

Thrasio, which acquires third-party sellers on Amazon,

I try to bend my mind in all sorts of directions, but I cannot make any sense out of this. Do they buy other companies? And if so, how can they do that? Are they a sort of Crocodile Capitalists (like Vulture Capitalists, but their victims are not dead yet)?

Re: What?

[mhkohne]

Lots of companies expand by buying other companies in a given area of business. Sounds like these guys didn't understand how to do it properly is all.

Re: What?

[Fly Swatter]

I suspect that buying a name that is stuck onto drop shipments from a Chinese manufacturer is not really profitable. You spend more money on acquiring the 'brand' than any profits made from the drop shipments. If you aggregate this problem like they did you can see how they failed.

3.4 Billion dollarydoos

[Pinky's Brain]

Slump my ass, they almost certainly never made a profit on any of their purchases. You can't buy a third party reseller at a 10% per year ROI, it's not like they have a strong brand. They have a supply chain, which anyone else can build very quickly too. Either you earn your money back in a year or so, or it can't possibly ever be worth it.

On the other hand, a company burning through a billion a year of course should have CEO salaries and golden parachutes nearing 100 Million ... if you're going to lose mon

Re:3.4 Billion dollarydoos

[avandesande]

you have to wonder if there was ever a thought to be profitable or was originated from the start to skin VC investors