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Spring (application)

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Spring
Company typePrivate
IndustryM-commerce E-commerce, Retail
Founded2013; 11 years ago (2013)
FoundersAlan Tisch, Ara Katz, David Tisch, Octavian Costache
Defunct2019 (2019)
Headquarters
New York City
Websitewww.shopspring.com

Spring was an E-commerce platform that connected retailers and shoppers using a direct-to-consumer sales model.[1] The company, headquartered in New York City, launched its mobile marketplace on August 14, 2014.[2] It raised over $30 million in venture funding by 2015.[3] The platform was recognized by Apple as one of the Best apps of 2014.[4] In October 2018, the membership service ShopRunner announced the acquisition of Spring[5] and closed the platform in 2019.[6]

History

[edit]

Spring was founded in 2013 by the brothers Alan and David Tisch, former Google employees, Octavian Costache, and Ara Katz. The company originally operated as Jello Labs, and announced the name change to Spring in July 2014 when it raised $7.5 million in Series A round funding led by Thrive Capital.[7][8] The company chose the name Spring to mirror the shopping area on Spring Street in SoHo, Manhattan.[9] The app was officially launched on August 14, 2014, with 250 brands selling their products on the iPhone-based platform.[10] In April 2015, Spring raised $25 million in a Series B round of venture funding led by Box Group that included Yuri Milner, Google Ventures and Thrive Capital.[11] Spring launched a desktop version of the shopping platform in November 2015.[12][13]

In March 2016, Spring launched a "personal shopping assistant" on Facebook's bot store.[14] In December 2016, Spring had 1,300 brands on the platform including Marc Jacobs, Helmut Lang and Coach. Spring raised $65 million in a Series C round of venture funding led by Fidelity Investments that included previous investors in May 2017.[15] As of May 2017, Spring sold items from over 1,500 retail brands[16][17] and had a gross value of over $100 million.[18]

Operations

[edit]

Spring was launched using a mobile first or m-commerce strategy and the company operated without a website until 2015.[12] It did not stock any inventory directly, and instead used a drop shipping methodology to fulfill orders.[19] The site also curated personalized collections and offered users brand recommendations.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Isaac, Mike (August 14, 2014). "Spring, An E-Commerce Start-Up, Aims at Mobile Shopping". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Sherman, Lauren (September 30, 2014). "Spring: What's Working- And What Isn't- Six Weeks In". Fashionista.
  3. ^ Shontell, Alyson (April 16, 2016). "Swipe-To-Buy App Spring Raises $25 Million to Become the First Big Mobile Shopping Mall". Business Insider.
  4. ^ Fitzpatrick, Alex (December 8, 2014). "Apple Says These Are the Best Apps of 2014". Time.
  5. ^ "Confirmed: ShopRunner acquires Spring, raises $40M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  6. ^ Crets, Stephanie (2019-05-15). "ShopRunner dives deeper into marketplace offerings after Spring acquisition". Digital Commerce 360. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  7. ^ Griffith, Erin (July 9, 2014). "David and Alan Tisch Raise $7.5 Million For Stealthy Mobile Shopping Startup Spring". Fortune.
  8. ^ Crook, Jordan (July 9, 2014). "David Tich's Stealthy Mobile Commerce Product, Spring, Closes $7.5M Series A". TechCrunch.
  9. ^ Konrad, Alex (August 14, 2014). "Quick Purchases, Sleek Brands, No Social: How New App Spring Looks to Crack Mobile Shopping". Forbes.
  10. ^ Macon, Alexandra (August 14, 2014). "This App Will Change the Way You Shop Forever". Vogue.
  11. ^ Brooke, Eliza (April 16, 2015). "Spring Raises $25 Million To Grow Its Mobile Shopping App". Fashionista.
  12. ^ a b Brooke, Eliza (November 24, 2015). "Shopping App Spring Proves To Be An Inexpensive Asset For Young Brands". Fashionista.
  13. ^ Crook, Jordan (April 16, 2015). "Spring, The Shoppable Instagram, Closes $25 M In Series B". TechCrunch.
  14. ^ Arthur, Rachel (April 12, 2016). "Shopping Startup Spring Launches One Of First Bots On Facebook Messenger". Forbes.
  15. ^ Noto, Anthony (May 11, 2017). "Spring Seals New Funding Deal From Fidelity, Kushner's Thrive Capital and Others". New York Business Journal. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  16. ^ Del Rey, Jason (May 11, 2017). "Fidelity is Betting $65 Million That The Spring App Can Be A Department Store of the Future". Recode. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  17. ^ McDowell, Maghan (December 5, 2016). "Why Spring is a Tech Company in the Fashion Space". WWD.
  18. ^ "Hyped Shopping App Spring Is About to Be Acquired". The Business of Fashion. 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  19. ^ Yi, David (June 7, 2016). "Shopping App Spring's Redesign Could be a Game-Changer". Mashable.
  20. ^ Reynolds, Cormac (September 16, 2016). "7 Retail Startups Changing the Way We Shop". Tech.co.
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