Kogan.com has acquired online retailer of gaming, toys and other entertainment, Mighty Ape in a deal valued at $122.4 million.
Mighty Ape sells tech products from major brands including Apple, Fitbit, Fujifilm, Instax, Samsung, Sennheiser and Sony.
A leading online retailer in New Zealand with over 690,000 unique customers and more than 895,000 subscribers, Mighty Ape also operates an online store in Australia.
In New Zealand, there are 161 permanent full-time employees and a purpose-built distribution centre near Auckland that facilitates same day delivery to Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch, and services shipping to the Australian market.
Based on unaudited management accounts for the 12 months to September 2020, Mighty Ape generated revenue of A$120.1 million and gross profit of A$37.8 million.
The online retail market in New Zealand is currently valued at circa A$5 billion and is expected to reach A$6.5 billion by 2026. New Zealand shoppers spent 33.4% more on domestic sites in September 2020 compared to the previous corresponding period.
Kogan.com COO and CFO, David Shafer said, “We are pleased to bring Mighty Ape into the Kogan Group and are delighted to welcome founder, Simon Barton and his team. We are a natural home for Mighty Ape, given our history and shared values but most importantly our obsession with delighting customers and continually improving the online shopping experience.
“Mighty Ape will give us significant scale in New Zealand and further strength across a variety of operational dimensions. We will draw on Mighty Ape’s deep experience in gaming, toys and other entertainment product categories and the New Zealand market, and combining this experience with Kogan.com’s sourcing, technology, systems, infrastructure, and marketplace capabilities, to further enhance the group’s already market-leading offering across the Tasman.”
Mighty Ape founder and CEO, Simon Barton added: “The team is happy to be joining forces with Kogan.com as we embark on the next stage of our growth. Combining with Kogan.com will assist us expand our product range and improve our customer experience.”
Mighty Ape was launched in 1995 as a traditional bricks-and-mortar store, Gamezone and hosted the official New Zealand release of the first Sony PlayStation. Pre-2000, the first iteration of Mighty Ape’s online store was developed, and the product offering was extended to DVDs, computer hardware, music, and books.
In 2008, all bricks-and-mortar stores were closed, and the brand was relaunched as Mighty Ape with a significant website upgrade. In the following years, the same day delivery service was launched alongside DHL shipping to Australia.
This year, Mighty Ape won the Canstar Blue Most Satisfied Customers Award and received the highest rank on the 2020 Kantar Customer Leadership Survey among retailers.