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Investment hits $20m as Flubit launches self-proclaimed UK rival to Amazon

London-headquartered online marketplace Flubit.com has announced it is set to launch what it has dubbed its own UK rival to Amazon after hitting $20m investment.

The website, which began life as a private-offer discount service, is now relaunching as a fully fledged ecommerce marketplace specialising in UK and Irish retailers and suppliers following what is has dubbed its ‘biggest one-off investment’.

According to Crunchbase, previous investors in the company include Mayfair’s Cocoon Wealth and Andurance Ventures, along with seed funding from unnamed angel investors.

Launching today (Wednesday 5 April), Flubit has announced that 20% of its inventory will be available from day one with 500,000 products set to be added each week from its 1,500 suppliers.

Following the launch Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Bertie Stephens claimed that the transformation into a fully-fledged online marketplace is something that Flubit’s users had been asking for and would now make it far easier for consumers to buy directly from the platform.

He said: “For years we’ve worked to build our business to the place our customers always envisioned; a UK owned alternative to Amazon, that offers customers great prices and speedy delivery – all without harming the bottom line of the independent retailers selling through our site.

“We’ve got a long and exciting journey ahead of us, but now UK shoppers have a true alternative to buy their online shopping from a UK owned marketplace, with great speed on delivery of their items.”

Steph Fiala, Chief Operation Officer added that the site’s refusal to take commission from the independent retailers selling on the marketplace meant that they could pass on the savings to the consumer.,

She added: “This enables us to offer top name products, cheaper than our competitors without taking an unfair slice of the pie. In short, it’s a better deal for the customer and a fairer deal for our retailers – helping everyone get the most from their online shopping.”

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