EMERGE Commerce Ltd. (formerly Transformational Capital) is a North American acquirer and operator of niche e-commerce brands with 2M members founded by Ghassan Halazon which operates eight brands.[1] The Company operates various marketplaces and subscription services across wide-ranging categories such as pets products, meat & groceries, golf, and other experiences. The Company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

EMERGE Commerce Ltd.
FormerlyTransformation Capital
Company typePublic
IndustryE-commerce
Founded2015
FounderGhassan Halazon
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Areas served
Canada, United States
Brandstrulocal.ca, wholesalepet.com, UnderPar.com, BattlBox.com, WagJag.com, justgolfstuff.ca, Carnivoreclub.co, Berightback.ca
Number of employees
115
Websiteemerge-commerce.com

Brands

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WholesalePet.com

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On November 16, 2021, EMERGE Commerce Ltd. acquired WholesalePet.com, a U.S. based B2B pet -marketplace matching 8,000 retailers and 400 vendors.

BattlBox Group

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On October 6, 2021, EMERGE Commerce Ltd. acquired BattlBox Group, a U.S. based subscription-based ecommerce portfolio that includes BattlBox.com, an outdoor gear subscription box, and CarnivoreClub.co, an artisanal meat subscription box.

truLOCAL.ca

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A locally-sourced meat subscription service based in Kitchener, Ont., has been acquired by Canadian e-commerce company Emerge Commerce for approximately $16.8 million. TruLOCAL allows customers to order regular boxes of products – such as grass-fed beef, wild-caught salmon, and chicken raised without antibiotics – from Canadian suppliers. The company generated revenue of $19.8 million in the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2020, representing year-over-year growth of 130 per cent.[2]

UnderPar.com and JustGolfStuff.ca

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In November 2019, EMERGE Commerce Ltd. acquired UnderPar (UnderPar.com and JustGolfStuff.ca) for $12 million. It is based in Toronto with an office in San Diego.[3]

WagJag

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WagJag (Wagjag.com) is a deal-of-the-day site which operates in Canada and is the largest family offers player in Ontario.[4] Prior to being acquired by Emerge Commerce in November 2017, WagJag was owned by Metroland Media Group, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, the parent Company of the Toronto Star.[5]

BeRightBack.ca

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BeRightBack.ca is dedicated nearby escapes and staycations portal, offering limited-time offers on hotels next door. The site was launched in 2020, as a sister site to WagJag.com

Buytopia.ca

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Buytopia is a deal-of-the-day site founded by Michele Romanow.[6] Buytopia's team previously sold their grocery cashback app to Groupon in 2014.

Shop.ca

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Shop.ca was initially a Canadian e-commerce site launched in June 2011. The company had raised CA$72M in venture capital funding; however, was spending more to acquire a customer that the average customer spent.[7] As a result, the company entered legal restructuring in July 2016 due to a lack of funds to continue operating. EMERGE acquired Shop.ca's assets via legal restructuring and re-launched Shop.ca as a Content & Coupons marketing platform [8]

References

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  1. ^ Serebrin, Jacob (13 December 2016). "Transformational Capital Sees Opportunity to Turn Around Distressed Ecommerce Brands". Techvibes. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Kitchener-based meat subscription company sold for $16.8M | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  3. ^ McClelland, Colin (November 22, 2019). "Online shopping promotion company Emerge buys UnderPar golf promotor | Financial Post". Financial Post. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  4. ^ Banerjee, Preet (12 October 2010). "The best of the deal-a-day sites". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  5. ^ Hasham, Alyshah (23 February 2012). "Groupon and other group buying sites such as WagJag and LivingSocial benefit from consumer "herd mentality": study". Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  6. ^ Toneguzzi, Mario (25 March 2015). "Minhas, Romanow to join CBC's Dragons Den". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  7. ^ Braga, Matthew (5 January 2017). "The inside story of Shop.ca's failed e-commerce revolution". Canadian Business. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  8. ^ Soltys, Douglas (14 July 2016). "Shop.ca's Assets to be sold to Transformational Capital, Amount not enough to Fully Repay Creditors". BetaKit. Retrieved 24 December 2017.