We don’t often write about Latin-American startups (in fact, if you’re familiar with that market, send us more tips please), but here’s an interesting one. Argentina-based Geelbe, a private e-commerce website, has just raised a second round of funding worth $1 million, led by D’Épée Investments.
The company is actively looking to expand its VIP shopping operations to other Latin-American countries, starting with Mexico first and Brazil later this year. The company had earlier raised $300,000 from a group of angel investors.
The model is simple but extremely powerful, as European startups like Vente-Privee, PrivateOutlet and BuyVip have already proven.
The basic principle is to fulfil supplier’s needs to quickly sell excess stock via the internet, without harming the brand’s image or diverting revenue from other distribution channels. To do this, services like Geelbe try to attract an select community of buyers on an invite-only basis, and help brands sell that extra stock to their members at reduced prices (with discounts amounting up to 70%), only for a limited period of time and without any of the disadvantages cited above.
Geelbe is considered to be the first significant web-based outlet of this kind in Latin-America, so it has the first-mover advantage and the momentum sorely needed to make inroads in that market. If they do this the smart way and succeed in expanding into other countries quickly and without burning too much cash, it has a lot going for it, especially if it sticks around long enough for the economy to start picking up again.
(Source: Denken Über)
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