A Little Market, the six years old French startup where customers can buy artisanal products made in France online was acquired by Etsy, the marketplace for vintage and hand-made goods.
The details of the deal remain undisclosed, yet according to the Wall Street Journal, the valuation is less than $100 million. For the two co-founders of A Little Market, Nicolas Cohen and Nicolas d’Audiffret, who will remain in charge of the company, this acquisition is an opportunity to expand their brand globally with a company that shares their “values and engagement for the community”.
The acquisition is in accordance with Etsy’s wish to expand globally – which is the reason why the startup raised (another) $40 million in a round led by Index Ventures in may 2012. Etsy observed that 90% of orders coming from France were based on import and export; on the other hand, A Little Market is purely focused on the interior French market – France being the 5th economical power and the 7th global e-commerce market: from a strategic point of view, it made sense for the two marketplaces to cooperate.
The acquisition of A Little Market (100k online stores) by Etsy (10 times that and $1,35billion in revenue) represents its largest and 6th acquisition – the marketplace recently acquired gadget marketplace Grand St. in April. It seems to be another example of French entrepreneurs’ capacity to innovate and create value in the field of fashion marketplaces.