Online retail company DealsDirect.com.au has purchased ToyBarn.com.au for an undisclosed sum. The announcement comes a few months after the brand acquired TheKidsStore.com.au
ToyBarn was launched in 2007 by experienced IT professionals to showcase IT applications such as a gift registry and reward points. It had such a good response its creators turned it into an online toy business.
Co-founder of DealsDirect.com.au, Paul Greenberg, maintains the company is keen to place themselves at the forefront of e-commerce roll-ups.
“We are in discussions with numerous parties now. Our acquisition of ToyBarn is the latest in a long list including TotalDVD.com.au, EntertainmentHouse.com.au, Stuff.com.au, TheKidStore.com.au, DinosaurDeals.com.au and more,” he says.
“Having just returned from the Internet Retail Conference in San Diego, it seems clear from current data there is a focus on scale. The bigger retailers online are growing dramatically, whilst the smaller retailers are not enjoying such high average growth. We are thrilled that smaller retailers like ToyBarn are happy to throw their hat in the ring with us.
“With our investment earlier in the year from Ellerston Capital, we have the capital and resource to push hard in this area.”
The founders of ToyBarn have decided to refocus their efforts on IT consulting and might even do some work with DealsDirect.
“One of the big benefits of these acquisitions is the learnings and contribution that we get from these smaller but nimble e-commerce professionals. The big boys can learn from them,” Greenberg adds.