Online retailer known for its unusual and quirky gifting has been acquired by the ecommerce service provider for an undisclosed sum.
Firebox.com, the online retailer known for its unusual and quirky gifting, has been acquired by ecommerce service provider MH direkt for an undisclosed sum.
Firebox has been independently owned by founders Michael Acton Smith and Tom Boardman since the company’s creation in 1998. Launched on the back of their incredibly successful invention, the ‘shot glass chess set’, Firebox was one of the first UK ecommerce success stories and set the bar for unusual gifts and online shopping.
The London-based company – which has served over five million customers to date – is best known for quirky, giftable creations such as Unicorn Tears Gin, the Mystery Box, CrapWrap and Mushions. It also sells a number of licensed products.
MH direkt is a one-stop provider for the ecommerce sector and already works with a number of online retailers, as well as owning European gift sites Radbag, Troppotogo and CadeauxFolies.
“Firebox was always a role model for us and we’ve learned a lot from them when it comes to creating a really great, extraordinary gift shopping site,” commented Philipp Schindler, ceo at MH direkt. “So, we believe that our own shops and Firebox complement each other very well.
“Both shops will be operated separately, yet working closely together in terms of marketing and product development. We are looking forward to bundling our creativity and gifting expertise in order to make our shops better and our customers happier. All in all, there’s a lot of synergies between the brands to benefit from; thus, we see Firebox as an excellent addition to our portfolio.”
Kristian Bromley, md at Firebox, added: “We are very excited about this new chapter for the business and delighted to work for Philipp and the MHD team. We’ve been close allies for a long time and this move makes perfect sense for all of us. Our aim is to continue to grow our unusual product offering and be the go-to destination for hard-to-find, unique gifts.”
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