Online delivery company Shutl says it will launch in the US early next year.
It will open for business in New York and San Francisco in the first quarter of 2013 to serve “a number of multichannel retailers”. From there it plans to roll out across 10 more North American cities, from Atlanta and Miami to Montreal and Toronto, and including Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington.
The news came as Shutl, which offers delivery within 90 minutes of purchase or in a convenient one-hour slot, announced it had won $3.2m (£1.99m) in funding to finance the expansion. The new equity investment comes from existing shareholders as well as new investors e.ventures and Notion Capital. Earlier this year UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund and Hummingbird Ventures were among the companies who put $2m (£1.24m) into the company.
“We are convinced that innovative logistics concepts that enable a faster, more comfortable and more reliable delivery will act as significant growth engines for ecommerce,” said Andreas Haug, partner at e.ventures. “In addition, offline retail will benefit from these solutions, which allows local retailers to acquire and retain customers online. Shutl is the pioneer in this segment and perfectly positioned to enter international markets.”
Jos White, partner at Notion Capital, said: “Notion looks to invest in fast-growing, internet-based businesses with the potential to disrupt large, and often complacent, markets – in this way Shutl is a great fit for us.”
Tom Allason, founder and chief executive of Shutl, said: “e.ventures and Notion Capital have a wealth of experience as both investors and entrepreneurs launching disruptive web-services all over the world. We are delighted to be supported by them and our existing investors in our efforts to build a brand that changes delivery forever, in the UK, the US and beyond.”
