Cambridge e-commerce start-up named one of Europe’s top 100 fastest growing companies

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Cambridge e-commerce start-up named one of Europe’s top 100 fastest growing companies.

Velocity Commerce, the online retail specialist based in Cambridge, UK, and established just six years ago in a co-founder’s home, has been named one of the fastest growing companies in Europe in the latest FT 1000report.

With an absolute revenue growth of 1,187% and revenue CAGR (2014-17) of 134.3%, Velocity Commerce is the 92nd fastest growing company in Europe and one of just 27 UK companies to have made it to the top 100.

Co-founders Eddie Latham and PJ Scott founded Velocity Commerce in 2013 to help brands build a strong online presence and increase revenue through online marketplaces. Utilising its experience and knowledge of channels such as Amazon and eBay, Velocity Commerce supports brands by delivering tailored marketplace solutions that build direct consumer relationships and help their products stand out against competing products in a crowded space.

Velocity Commerce distributes directly from its own warehouse and, as well as managing current ranges, offers brands an intelligent outlet for end of line, as well as returned and refurbished stock, helping to prevent excessive wastage of useable and resalable products. The business now receives over 3,000 orders per day, and has an annual turnover of £25 million. Eddie Latham and PJ Scott have grown Velocity Commerce with no external investment and are projecting sales of over £30 million in 2019.  

The FT 1000, compiled by the Financial Times with Statista, lists the European companies that achieved the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue between 2014 and 2017.  Statistics also considered are annual revenue, number and growth of employees.

Eddie Latham, Co-founder, Velocity Commerce comments: “When PJ and I founded Velocity six years ago – still working part time for other companies and running the business from PJ’s house – we never expected this level of growth. At the beginning, we were mainly selling clearance electrical stock on eBay; then we saw a gap in the market and a fantastic opportunity with the growth of online marketplaces - brands often find themselves stuck with a lot of excess stock – both clearance and current – which is costing them money to keep. So, instead of discarding it to landfill or prematurely cutting prices, we offered to take it off brands’ hands and, utilising the mass reach of eBay and Amazon, turn it back into profitable stock. In our first Christmas we turned around £140,000 in a month and, within a year, we were making sales of £100,000 a month.

 “Building on the success of Velocity Commerce, we are continuing to develop our offering with more focus on building the success and reputation of brands, using our expertise in digital marketplace algorithms to drive sales through online platforms and marketplaces. We work with businesses of all shapes and sizes and provide them with bespoke solutions to help them achieve their sales objectives. Some brands will hire us to simply increase their Amazon searchability, whereas others will use us as a full extension of their business, where we keep stock in our warehouse, list it, sell it, and, if required, manage returns and any refurbishment so products are not wasted – all the while ensuring the brand’s equity is not diluted.”

On top of the FT 1000 listing, in December 2018, Velocity Commerce was ranked 11th in  ‘The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100’ 2018 league table, which identifies Britain’s fastest-growing companies over the last three years.