Prior to partnering with Stripes, Rich Tarrant, CEO and co-founder, had been building MyWebGrocer in Vermont with his brothers for over a decade. They had created a strong, profitable business that had an exceptional market position as a leading e-commerce technology solution for the grocery industry, and were beginning to consider if taking on their first outside partner would help them accelerate. In 2009, he and his brothers felt they had reached a point where bringing an experienced partner to the table to work with them in their closely held company could be genuinely valuable. Dan Marriott and Ron Shah at Stripes quickly structured an investment because they were excited at the prospect of working with Rich and his excellent team, who they had built a relationship with over several years, and also at the unique opportunity that was opening in front of the company as the market shift to ecommerce continued to accelerate – their platform enabled the most recognized retailers and consumer packaged goods brands in the world to reach consumers where they were increasingly doing their grocery planning and shopping online.
Upon closing the investment in 2009, the Stripes team began actively working with MyWebGrocer to realize their vision. Stripes recruited valuable team members onto the MyWebGrocer team and worked closely with Rich and his management team to identify the most actionable opportunities for growth. The Company grew considerably larger and more profitable, more than tripling revenues and growing profitability tenfold. In 2013, Stripes realized their investment in MyWebGrocer through a recapitalization led by HGGC, a technology-focused private equity firm. Since then, the company has gone on to consolidate with Mi9 Retail, a leading enterprise software provider, and continues to service the grocery and packaged good industries as part of that broader platform.
The information noted above is representative as of the time noted/September 2019 and has not been updated.