Ankorstore rebrands and launches rewards programme

French start-up Ankorstore, the largest online ecosystem connecting independent retailers and brands across Europe, is rebranding under a new two-word manifesto: “rewild retail” to articulate its mission to pioneer the evolution of retail in favour of independents.

Ankorstore, which in January secured 250 million euros in a Series C funding round and achieved unicorn status in just two years with a valuation of 1.75 billion euros, is looking to empower independent brands and retailers to realise their full potential by supporting them in an increasingly competitive retail system.

The ‘rewild retail’ concept aims to bring to life Ankorstore’s approach as the first business-to-business marketplace geared towards independent retailers and brands competing on a global scale by creating conditions, such as introducing a minimum order of 100 euros and payment terms of 60-days.

Nicolas D’Audiffret, co-chief executive officer and co-founder of Ankorstore, said in a statement: “To reflect our new identity, we felt compelled to find a new way to articulate the heart of our mission. We found two words that epitomise our mission and who we are as a company: Rewild Retail. The concept is simple - to restore the natural order and beauty of an ecosystem that is broken so that everyone in it can thrive again.”

Ankorstore rebrand to offer “stronger brand expression” to cater for the next stage of its journey

Alongside the rebrand, Ankorstore has also launched a reward programme, an initiative to increase a retailer’s margin when they buy from multiple brands to enable independent retailers to thrive. D’Audiffret added: “We want to give the retailers the possibility to stay agile and adapt to the market needs, especially in these uncertain times. Usually, discounts are given on volume but we decided to do things differently.

“Our Reward Programme makes it possible for retailers to get the best margins by buying more brands instead of more volume. Brand discovery and diversity in their product offer is key, so we adapted our business model accordingly and subsequently created a paradigm shift in the world of retail.”

Ankorstore was founded in 2019 by four French e-commerce entrepreneurs, Pierre-Louis Lacoste former Etsy country manager, Nicolas d’Audiffret and Nicolas Cohen founders of A Little Market and Mathieu Alengrin, the former head engineer at Vestiaire Collective. In just two years, the business-to-business marketplace designed to level the playing field for independents has attracted 250,000 retailers and 20,000 brands across 33 countries in Europe.

In January, when it announced the 250 million euro investment, the wholesale marketplace stated it would use the funds to expand geographically, accelerate its activities in its core European market, and add new categories such as sports and wellbeing and pets.