Co-shopping services provider
LetsBuyIt.com said
Thursday it will list on the Neuer Markt on June 7.
Investment banker Robertson Stephens, which specializes
in the Internet and high tech sectors, is co-ordinating
the IPO, leading a syndicate that includes DG Bank,
Sal. Oppenheim and Enskilda-Securities.
LetsBuyIt.com has established pole position among
co-shopping providers, “co-shopping” being an
Internet service that allows consumers to combine their
purchasing power in order to beat down prices. In
effect, it lets the individual buy at a wholesale price
without having to purchase a huge quantity of the product.
Founded in January 1999 in Sweden, LetsBuyIt.com
launched online in April that year, moving into
Denmark, Finland and Norway in August and into
Germany and the U.K. in November. It has now extended
its operations to Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the
Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy.
Jan-Erik Gustavsson, chief technology officer at
LetsBuyIt.com, spoke of its advanced architecture,
security, scalability and process automation, and
said that it was geared for rapid global expansion, a
fact that gave it a distinct competitive advantage.
LetsBuyIt.com says it has 450,000 members and reports
growth of over 25,000 new members per week. Its
business relationships extend to over 150 well known
brands, such as Kodak, Hewlett Packard, Fujitsu/Siemens,
Aiwa, LG, Psion, Nikon, Pioneer, Pentax and Logitech.
“Our business concept seems to have struck a chord
with Internet users. Rapidly growing membership and
sales figures validated our approach right from the
start,” said Martin Coles, chief executive officer
of LetsBuyIt.com.
Coles went on to say that the company’s strategy is
to develop a global brand, providing users worldwide
with the power to make cheaper purchases.
Employing 300 staff worldwide, LetsBuyIt.com is
headquartered in London.
