Start-up online buying club BuyMucho is preparing the ground for a phased UK rollout later this year and is looking to strengthen its board with high-profile names from the world of retail and technology.
The company, which launched its ‘beta’ test in London’s non-Congestion Charge zone and the Home Counties at the end of October, promises registered members savings of up to 50% on their “usual” supermarket.
MD David Smith has started fundraising talks with a view to a region-by-region rollout, possibly from October.
Serial entrepreneur Jamie Burke, founder and director, has resigned to pursue other interests, although he is still a shareholder. Smith was scheduled to meet a potential chairman, and chief technology officer (CTO) this week.
The prospective chairman was “a big name in fmcg” and the CTO had worked for “a massive technology company that was a huge success” Smith told The Grocer.
The company has dropped its ‘bulk-buy’ descriptor after it found shoppers thought they could only buy “huge” quantities. It has opted for ‘multibuy’ and ‘multipack’ instead.
It has also halved its minimum order to £50 because feedback suggested the original threshold was too high.
BuyMucho had also changed its supply from a single supplier to buying from across the entire wholesale market, Smith said. The products had been “too narrow” originally, he added, so BuyMucho had extended the SKUs from 1,149 to 1,770. Getting to 2,500 SKUs was a possibility by the end of the year, with an ultimate maximum of double that.
Smith pointed to recent shops where a customer had saved £45 on a £150 order and another of £23 on a £60 order. He would expect to make a profit in year three after getting the anticipated new investment, he added.
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