| EMERGE Commerce Ltd. | |
| Type: | Public |
| Former Name: | Transformation Capital |
| Industry: | E-commerce |
| Founded: | 2015 |
| Location: | Toronto, Ontario |
| Num Employees: | 115 |
| Founder: | Ghassan Halazon |
| Brands: | trulocal.ca, wholesalepet.com, UnderPar.com, BattlBox.com, WagJag.com, justgolfstuff.ca, Carnivoreclub.co, Berightback.ca |
| Areas Served: | Canada, United States |
EMERGE Commerce Ltd. (formerly Transformational Capital) is a North American acquirer and operator of niche e-commerce brands with 2M members founded by Ghassan Halazon which operates eight brands.[1] The Company operates various marketplaces and subscription services across wide-ranging categories such as pets products, meat & groceries, golf, and other experiences. The Company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
On November 16, 2021, EMERGE Commerce Ltd. acquired WholesalePet.com, a U.S. based B2B pet -marketplace matching 8,000 retailers and 400 vendors.
On October 6, 2021, EMERGE Commerce Ltd. acquired BattlBox Group, a U.S. based subscription-based ecommerce portfolio that includes BattlBox.com, an outdoor gear subscription box, and CarnivoreClub.co, an artisanal meat subscription box.
A locally-sourced meat subscription service based in Kitchener, Ont., has been acquired by Canadian e-commerce company Emerge Commerce for approximately $16.8 million. TruLOCAL allows customers to order regular boxes of products – such as grass-fed beef, wild-caught salmon, and chicken raised without antibiotics – from Canadian suppliers. The company generated revenue of $19.8 million in the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2020, representing year-over-year growth of 130 per cent.[2]
In November 2019, EMERGE Commerce Ltd. acquired UnderPar (UnderPar.com and JustGolfStuff.ca) for $12 million. It is based in Toronto with an office in San Diego.[3]
See main article: WagJag. WagJag (Wagjag.com) is a deal-of-the-day site which operates in Canada and is the largest family offers player in Ontario.[4] Prior to being acquired by Emerge Commerce in November 2017, WagJag was owned by Metroland Media Group, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, the parent Company of the Toronto Star.[5]
BeRightBack.ca is dedicated nearby escapes and staycations portal, offering limited-time offers on hotels next door. The site was launched in 2020, as a sister site to WagJag.com
Buytopia is a deal-of-the-day site founded by Michele Romanow.[6] Buytopia's team previously sold their grocery cashback app to Groupon in 2014.
See main article: Shop.ca. Shop.ca was initially a Canadian e-commerce site launched in June 2011. The company had raised CA$72M in venture capital funding; however, was spending more to acquire a customer that the average customer spent.[7] As a result, the company entered legal restructuring in July 2016 due to a lack of funds to continue operating. EMERGE acquired Shop.ca's assets via legal restructuring and re-launched Shop.ca as a Content & Coupons marketing platform [8]