Dhaka-based recommerce startup SWAP announced early this month that it has acquired a 49% stake in the drop-shipping platform BDHotDeals. BDHotDeals allows customers to buy authentic branded products from overseas and in Bangladesh. The move comes at a time when SWAP is doubling down on growth. The deal is expected to allow existing SWAP customers to buy genuine products from BDHotDeals.
The companies did not disclose the details of the deal.
In the last two years, Dhaka’s startup scene has seen several interesting strategic acquisition deals. Companies are looking into acquisition as a strategy to expand into new verticals, markets, acquire new users, and build competitive moats. SWAP’s moves indicate that more similar deals are likely as more companies raise meaningful investments.
SWAP deals with used products. The company buys used mobile phones, cars, bikes, and furniture and sells them through its online platform and offline channels.
Many SWAP users go for exchange on the SWAP platform where they sell a used product and buy a new or used product with that money. But for many users, SWAP does not offer enough options. As a result, many users only sell to SWAP and do not necessarily buy from it. SWAP has been plotting to change this. The company wants people to both sell to it and buy from it.
The deal with BDHotDeals is expected to add steam to that strategy. SWAP now can offer one more option to its customers to buy from it — spend the money they earn selling their used products to SWAP. SWAP has tested a similar strategy before in partnership with ecommerce companies like Daraz where SWAP customers could use SWAP vouchers to buy products. It means the move has strategic value for SWAP.
“This will give the existing 600,000 + registered users of SWAP and any customers who want to get genuine products from abroad the opportunity to buy them in the most transparent way,” writes SWAP founder and CEO Parvez Hossain in a social media post.
It also works the other way around. SWAP can now essentially promote its recommerce to BDHotDeals customers tapping into a new segment who probably is not fully into selling used products yet.
SWAP has always eyed ecommerce as a potential route for expansion that can be tied with its recommerce platform. This deal can also work as an experiment for that as well.
Similarly, BDHotDeals will benefit from SWAP’s strong customer base, strategic and operational acumen, infrastructure, and brand value.
BDHotDeals, as the name suggests, finds and aggregates the best deals online from a number of international markets and Bangladesh and provides customers a simplified way to shop from abroad. The company collaborates with travelers for logistics that reduce the costs for all parties involved. The company claims it offers delivery within 15 working days.
Founded in 2020, SWAP operates as a C2B, B2B, and C2B2C marketplace where customers can sell, swap, or buy used products such as smartphones, laptops, appliances, vehicles, and more. The company also offers an opportunity for the customers to directly exchange used products with new ones across various categories. The company says it aims to be the most dependable re-commerce platform in Bangladesh. SWAP has so far raised $1.5 million investment from local and global investors.
