On the Heels of Cutting a Third of Its Staff, Fab Buys a Finnish Furniture Company The troubled ecommerce site paid 'tens of millions' for an Ikea-like company that makes "Nordic interior design originals."
By Laura Entis
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Here's the latest news on the Fab front: The struggling ecommerce startup -- which, in less than a year, went from a receiving a $1 billion valuation to fending off reports that it was transitioning "from existence to nonexistence" – just bought One Nordic Furniture. (This is Fab's second furniture acquisition. It previously snapped up German-based company Massivkonzept.)
Judging from its website, the Helsinki, Finland-based furniture company is something of an upscale Ikea.
While the exact terms of the deal were not released, the acquisition was "valued in the tens of millions," according to a press release. In addition, Nordic One will acquire a 5 percent stake in Fab.
Related: Fab's CEO Refutes 'Hateful Rumors' That His Company Is Shutting Down
The acquisition comes after quite a tumultuous year for the New York City-based company. Last July, the ecommerce site raised an additional $150 million (bringing total funding to approximately $336 million) for a valuation of around $1 billion. Since then, Fab has seen countless layoffs (last month it let a third of its remaining global staff go), had its co-founder Bradford Shellhammer, along with countless executives, leave and been under an enormous amount of scrutiny. Just two weeks ago, Fab's CEO and co-founder Jason Goldberg took to Twitter to again deny rumors that his company was essentially dead in the water.
Bullshit hateful rumors of @fab shutting down are just that. Bullshit hate. We've got years of money & a sound plan. Proof in time.
— Jason Goldberg (@betashop) June 4, 2014In a statement announcing the acquisition, Goldberg reiterated the sentiment expressed in the above tweet, albeit in more formal language. "The acquisition flows from a long-term strategic plan we laid out last fall," he said. "We have seen great success in our recent private label initiatives and customized furniture launches; our acquisition of One Nordic is the next step in pursuing this plan that is proving itself in market."
Could this be the pivot to help the struggling ecommerce site turn itself around? Only time will tell.
Related: Why Fab Is Bleeding
