ReCharge, which handles subscription services for other companies, has raised $277 million in venture capital, pegging its valuation at $2.1 billion, the company announced in a Thursday (May 6) press release. Investors in the Series B round include Summit Partners, Iconiq Growth, and Bain Capital Ventures.
“Our merchants are seeing a huge benefit from the addition of subscription offerings to their businesses,” said Oisin O’Connor, CEO and co-founder of ReCharge. He said that a range of brands, including direct-to-consumer and omnichannel, gain from having subscribers — who, of course, are repeat customers.
He said the venture firms have given ReCharge both “the capital and company-building expertise that helps to solve new customer challenges” and offer new products and services.
Andrew Collins, managing director at Summit Partners, said ReCharge is poised to “help eCommerce brands build meaningful, long-lasting relationships with their customers.” He added that his firm believes that “the most successful bootstrapped companies learn to operate with the utmost efficiency and a disciplined focus on growth.” Collins is joining the ReCharge board.
Founded in 2014, the company was self-funded for over five years before accepting outside financing. The company said that ReCharge helps brands to grow by allowing them to easily add subscriptions offerings to their business.
“We have been with ReCharge since the beginning, and we’ve always been impressed by their pace of innovation and responsiveness to customer feedback,” said Leonid Tsiuliupa, chief technology officer at Ka’Chava, ReCharge’s first customer in 2014.
ReCharge said that it now powers subscriptions for 15,000 merchants and 20 million subscribers worldwide. ReCharge customers include Harry’s, Oatly and Fiji Water.
The pandemic has triggered a huge increase in the share of consumers using subscription products. In fact, 81 percent of consumers use at least one type of subscription service.
PYMNTS’ 2021 Subscription Commerce Conversion Index, done along with sticky.io, shows consumers may be looking for ease and convenience — and a host of other factors. PYMNTS surveyed a census-balanced panel of 2,022 U.S. adult consumers to learn about what they look for in subscription services. Beyond the basics, many have come to see subscriptions as a way to have fun and explore new purchasing options right from their homes.