Costco acquires logistics solutions company Innovel

Under Costco’s ownership, Innovel will continue to serve Sears and other existing third party customers. Advisors to Costco on the transaction included Moelis & Company (financial) and Perkins Coie (legal).

Innovel has for decades provided Sears and, more recently, third parties with ‘final mile’ delivery, complete installation and white glove capabilities for ‘big and bulky’ products across the United States and Puerto Rico. Innovel’s network offers coverage to nearly 90 per cent of the US and Puerto Rico. Products served through Innovel include major appliances, furniture, mattresses, televisions, grills, patio, fitness equipment and wine cellars. Innovel consistently ranks in the top quartile of customer satisfaction scores.

It employs over 1,500 people and operates 11 distribution/fulfillment centres and over 100 final-mile cross-dock centres, with over 15 million square feet of warehouse space. The company also operates dedicated call centres.

“We have had a great relationship with Innovel and share a philosophy of taking care of our members. We believe the acquisition will allow us to grow our e-commerce sales of ‘big and bulky’ items at a faster rate,” said Craig Jelinek, Costco’s CEO.

Costco has been a customer of Innovel since 2015. Costco currently operates 786 warehouses, including 547 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 100 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 29 in the United Kingdom, 26 in Japan, 16 in Korea, 13 in Taiwan, 11 in Australia, two in Spain, and one each in Iceland, France, and China. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)