Amazon seller acquisition company Berlin Brands Group enters China

Berlin Brands Group (BBG), one of the major Amazon seller acquisition companies, announced today it has officially entered China, a market that is becoming a battleground for companies looking to acquire Chinese sellers.

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Berlin-based BBG has recently raised US$240 million in debt financing to fund acquisitions of ecommerce brands, those that generate between US$1 million to US$100 million in annual sales on marketplaces such as Amazon.

According to an announcement, BBG’s goal in China is to acquire “outstanding Chinese sellers and help these brands to scale worldwide via BBG’s distribution channels, Amazon only being one of them.” The company says it can enable Chinese sellers to enter the US as well as European markets via its own distribution channels, logistics, and tech-fueled marketing.

“China is the battlefield. If you look at the newly registered sellers on Amazon, the majority of them come from China,” BBG CEO Peter Chaljawski tells Tech in Asia.

According to ecommerce intelligence firm Marketplace Pulse, China-based sellers represented 75% of new sellers on Amazon in January, which is a significant increase from 47% in the previous year.

BBG says it’s different than other acquirers of Amazon sellers since it has grown successful direct-to-consumer brands from scratch. BBG was founded in 2005, while the trend of rolling up ecommerce brands has just taken off lately in the US, Europe, and most recently Southeast Asia. The company focuses on garden, home and living, sports, electronics, and household appliances segments.

Similar companies in this region have also come out of stealth mode to join the Amazon roll-up frenzy. One of which is Singapore-based Rainforest, which raised US$36.5 million in seed financing last month. Rainforest CEO JJ Chai previously told Tech in Asia that the company can access brands or deals in Asia that go beyond those recommended by “global brokers” in the space.

See also: Why these ex-Carousell, Fave execs raised $36.5m to join the global Amazon roll-up frenzy

However, US and European-based acquirers are already shifting gear to Asia. Besides BBG, Branded Group, another well-funded competitor which was co-founded by former Lazada CEO Pierre Poignant, is also hiring in Shanghai and Shenzhen for its Chinese operations.