Mercado Livre announces acquisition of Kangu, a Latin American logistics operator
25 Agosto 2021 - 08:43AM
Mercado Livre, Latin America’s leading e-commerce and financial
services technology company, has announced its acquisition of
Kangu, a Brazilian logistics company that operates in Brazil,
Colombia and Mexico. Mercado Livre, which was already a strategic
partner, expanded its participation with the acquisition of the
entire company. This is consistent with the platform’s strategy of
increasing investment across its logistics network to boost
efficiency for sellers and offer its thousands of customers the
fastest delivery times in Brazil.
Over 40 thousand sellers currently use the Kangu
network in the three countries where it operates. Kangu has more
than 5,000 collection and delivery points, more than half of them
in Brazil. The company serves a wide variety of companies including
Mercado Livre, connecting e-commerce sellers to its network of
neighborhood partners such as pet shops, stationers and other local
stores. These stores form a high capillarity network of collection
points where sellers can leave their products for delivery, or
delivery points where customers can pick up their orders.
“Kangu is already an important part of our
ecosystem, with over 5,000 locations connecting Mercado Livre
buyers and sellers. The deal will increase operational efficiency
and capillarity as we maintain our focus on delivering to Brazilian
customers as quickly as possible,” said Renato Pereira, Corporate
Development director for Mercado Livre. “During the pandemic, when
order volumes rose, Kangu’s ancillary network played a major role
in increasing delivery efficiency,” Renato added. Apart from the
notable growth in e-commerce, the acquisition is part of Mercado
Livre’s rapid expansion, especially in Brazil, and will help grow
its logistics network.
“We develop solutions in-house while also
looking for partners and opportunities to democratize e-commerce
and keep reducing delivery times,” said Leandro Bassoi, Mercado
Livre’s vice-president of Logistics for Latin America. The company
currently offers next-day deliveries in 2.1 thousand Brazilian
cities and same day deliveries to dozens of locations. “Apart from
the logistics synergies, Kangu will increase operational
sustainability with alternatives that reduce vehicle traffic and
emissions and increase our social impact, generating income for the
small stores that make up its network,” said Bassoi.
In 2020, Kangu’s revenues grew by a factor of
100 year on year. In addition to its pick-up and drop-off points,
the company’s business model includes shipping services supported
by external partners and reverse logistics. Kangu has been able to
optimize deliveries and offer additional services thanks to its
investment in technology, especially intelligent data
management.
“In the past few years the Mercado Livre
partnership has driven rapid growth across our operation and we
will continue growing to better serve our current and future
customers,” said Marcelo Guarnieri, Kangu founder and co-CEO. “We
already operate 2.6 thousand points and five of our own
cross-docking site in Brazil alone. We expect this to rise to 3.5
thousand points and 13 cross-docking sites by December.”
Kangu will remain independent and will continue
to be managed by its co-CEOs. It will continue its strategy of
attracting new e-commerce sellers who require efficient collection,
delivery and reverse logistics solutions. “Kangu’s market share has
mainly risen because of the positive impact we have across the
chain. We will continue serving Mercado Livre and other companies
and developing new services,” noted Ricardo Araujo, Kangu founder
and co-CEO.
The Kangu acquisition will reinforce Mercado
Livre’s business ecosystem as part of its strategy which involves
the provision of services from third-party logistics companies,
reducing delivery times and expanding capacity at Mercado Envios,
its logistics arm. This business unit shipped over 230.5 million
items in the second quarter, up 46.4% from Q2 2020. The transaction
is subject to approval from competition regulators.
About Mercado LivreMercado
leader is Latin America’s leading e-commerce and financial services
technology company. It offers solutions that allow people and
companies to buy, sell, pay for, advertise and ship products and
services over the Internet. In addition to its e-commerce platform
and Mercado Pago fintech, the company also operates in the
following areas: Mercado Envios, Mercado Livre VIS (Vehicles,
Property and Services), Mercado Ads and Mercado Shops.
Mercadolivre.com, which is Latin America’s biggest and most
comprehensive marketplace, has 75.9 million active users and over
12 million sellers, including a number of major brands. The site
makes 29 sales a second. Mercado Pago, which has more than 62.1
million active payers, offers a fully-fledged financial technology
platform with free accounts alongside payment and credit solutions.
Founded in 1999 and currently operating in 18 countries, Mercado
Livre is the only Latin American company in the top 10 World’s Best
Workplaces, according to the GPTW 2020.
investor.mercadolibre.com
Press informationManuela Minns
(11) 96194-4586 - manuela.minns@fleishman.com.br Débora
Camargo (11) 97244-5211 - debora.camargo@fleishman.com.br
Daniela Farina (21) 98105-5145
- daniela.farina@fleishman.com.brimprensa.mercadolivre@fleishman.com.brwww.fleishmanhillard.com
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Fev 2024 até Mar 2024
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Mar 2023 até Mar 2024