Two-day shipping service ShopRunner plans to acquire fashion retailer startup Spring, potentially creating the Amazon.com equivalent of the fashion world, Recode reports.
With hundreds of brand partnerships—including everything from Nieman Marcus to AutoZone—ShopRunner allows members to buy online from their favorite stores, then check out with ShopRunner, getting free two-day shipping. According to Recode, ShopRunner members spend more than $2 billion per year.
With Spring, ShopRunner could expand its fashion and lifestyle offerings, adding Spring’s more than 1,500 brands to their partnerships. Just five years old, the startup has raised $100 million in financing, according to Recode, but has struggled to expand its customer base.
A potential acquisition by ShopRunner stems from more than just business: News Vire reports ShopRunner founder Michael Rubin and Spring CEO and co-founder Alan Tisch are personal friends.
While the terms of the deal are unknown, the sale would make ShopRunner a powerful online retailer; CEO Sam Yagan has experience growing companies. He successfully co-founded both SparkNotes (every high school literature student’s hero) and OKCupid before moving up to the executive suite at Match Group. He became CEO of ShopRunner in 2016.