Bol.com, a Utrecht-based online retailer focussed on non-food items, announced on Tuesday, July 11, that it has acquired all shares of Cycloon, a Dutch company that offers logistics, cargo, freight, transportation, and delivery services.
Born out of a passion for cycling and the environment, Cycloon aims to make the delivery market greener and more social. Based on this goal, the company set up a national bicycle courier platform in 2016 and now delivers to more than 60 cities.
Aim of this acquisition
Both companies aim to make delivery more environmentally and socially responsible and work together to promote Cycloon’s growth.
Bol.com, which already owns the vast majority of the shares in Cycloon, is anticipated to buy the remaining shares by the end of July 2023.
According to a statement from Bol.com, initially, it planned to buy the remaining shares of Cycloon in 2026. However, the parties have now agreed to transfer all of Cycloon’s shares to Bol.com in the near future.
When a partnership was announced back in December 2021, both firms indicated that Bol.com wanted to assist Cycloon in its goal to speed up green and social deliveries. The deal for Bol.com’s majority ownership of Cycloon was concluded in 2022.
For Bol.com, this deal guarantees that a higher proportion of parcels can be carried by bicycle and that the online retail platform can provide the “best” delivery service to customers. Cycloon delivered the first Bol.com shipment in September 2022.
Intensifying collaboration will allow Cycloon to scale up more quickly, says Bol.com.
Cycloon will continue to exist as a distinct company with a separate executive committee. It will also continue to deliver mail and packages for other clients in addition to Bol.com’s packages.
Change in management roles for Cycloon
Marieke Snoek, the current CEO of Cycloon, has opted to hand over her position. She will take up a new role on the executive board.
Marieke Snoek says, “This is the logical next step for Cycloon. We started Cycloon because delivery can be done differently: more sustainable and more social. I am confident that with Bol.com we will continue our social and sustainable mission and we will expand our social impact even further.”
Cycloon’s COO, Nick Vreeswijk, will delegate his responsibilities to a new operations director. Within Cycloon, he will continue to play a key role in operations for the last mile of bicycle couriers.
Vincent Weijers, COO of Bol.com, says, “Moving towards a sustainable and socially responsible last mile is crucial for the future of e-commerce and we are working closely with all our carriers to achieve this.”
“In this, we are continuously looking at how we can further reduce our CO2 emissions. And intensifying our cooperation with Cycloon plays an important role in this.”
Brief about Bol.com
Launched in 1999, Bol.com claims to be the largest online retail platform in the Benelux that provides books, entertainment, electronic devices, and toys for its clients.
More than two decades later, the shop boasts 13 million active users in the Netherlands and Belgium, a 35 million-item product variety, and 52,000 sales partners that sell their goods through the Bol.com platform.
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/bol-com-acquires-cycloon/
