There are roughly 718,000 direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailers within the U.S. with lower than $5 million in annualized income, and rising at roughly 15% per yr.
That is the goal buyer of flex warehouse (also called co-warehousing) firm Saltbox, which tells CNBC it’s seeing continued development in warehouse demand from small and medium-size companies.
“E-commerce is the predominant driver of this demand,” mentioned Tyler Scriven, CEO and co-founder of Saltbox. “There is a large market alternative right here to serve their warehouse wants.”
Almost 75% of Saltbox’s 700-plus enterprise prospects are led by ladies or individuals of coloration; greater than 70% are e-commerce firms promoting their bodily items direct to customers in classes from style to tech, residence items, well being and wonder.
“Our financial system is more and more pushed by logistics, our retail financial system specifically, and that works within the favor of huge firms,” Scriven mentioned.
Warehouse demand is way outpacing provide within the present market and driving up costs.
Scriven encountered the logistics challenges entrepreneurs face when working his personal small enterprise along with his spouse. The area he was utilizing to retailer and ship his firm’s merchandise was not environment friendly, and dealing circumstances weren’t acceptable for workers. The necessity to supply enterprise area inside warehouses for small and medium-size companies is a part of the rationale for Saltbox. Small companies can discover themselves working out of a storage, basement, and even self-storage amenities, and want an setting that may spark innovation and inspiration, Scriven mentioned.
“Small and medium-size enterprise homeowners take a variety of delight of their work and whenever you combine their workplace operations on website, it’s life-changing,” Scriven mentioned.
He mentioned Saltbox’s is projecting roughly 4x income development this yr and estimates the full market it may serve could also be as giant as a million companies.
Saltbox doubled in measurement in 2022 and final November secured $35 million in a collection B enterprise funding spherical. Its traders embrace Cox Enterprises and Pendulum, an funding and advisory agency devoted to funding founders of coloration.
The corporate not too long ago opened its eleventh co-warehousing location, close to Columbus, Ohio, a location Saltbox says permits prospects to achieve roughly two-thirds of the U.S. inhabitants with two-day delivery. It additionally has amenities close to Atlanta (the place Saltbox is predicated), Dallas, Denver, Miami, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., and plans for added Arizona and Florida places.