Shutl is a subsidiary of eBay Inc. which provides delivery services. The company was founded in London in 2008 by Tom Allason, as a company offering a rapid fulfillment service by connecting online retailers with local same-day couriers. The company was bought by eBay in 2013.[1][2]
| Industry | Delivery |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom  |
Key people | Tom Allason[i] |
| Products | Transportation of goods |
| Parent | eBay (2013-25 July 2019) |
| Website | Shutl.com |
History
editShutl received £500,000 of venture capital investment in October 2009[3] from investors including Simon Murdoch, Paul Birch, Mark Zaleski, and Big Bang Ventures of Belgium.[1][3] Murdoch, who was previously Vice President of Amazon in Europe, joined the company's board as non-executive chairman.[4] Shutl's official launch took place on 9 December 2009 at LeWeb, a European Internet conference.[4][5]
The company acted as an aggregator for same-day delivery services over short distances, connecting retailers with couriers who made deliveries within a ten-mile radius of the retailer's premises.[4]
In the first months of operations, Shutl was available in London only. Its first delivery transaction took place in March 2010.[6] The company's initial growth rate was about 50 percent month-on-month.[6] Company executives planned for growth within the UK and then internationally.[7] One of the first major retailers to adopt the service in London was Argos, the UK's largest multichannel retailer.[8]
The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Shutl a trademark in August 2011.[9] By Christmas that year, Shutl extended its coverage to serve 50% of the UK's online shoppers.[10] By mid-2012, Shutl operated in more than 50 UK cities and towns, serving 70% of UK shoppers.[11]
In 2012, Shutl executives began planning for a North American launch.[11][12] The company received a $2 million investment from the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund[11][6] and the French post office, La Poste, made a similar investment through its wholly owned subsidiary, Geopost.[6] The launch took place in February 2013.[12][13]
In 2012, Shutl offered Jamaican sprinter and Olympic champion Usain Bolt a one-percent stake in the company in exchange for his endorsement.[14] The company won the 2012 DHL Online Fulfillment Initiative of the Year award,[15] and Startups.co.uk ranked Shutl at number 1 in their top 100 startups of the year.[16] In November 2012, the company won the National Business Awards Start-up Business of the Year award.[17]
In January 2013, Shutl won Best Transport, Travel or Environmental Startup at The Europas.[18]
In June 2019, eBay UK announced they would be changing their delivery service provider from Shutl to Packlink.[19]
Purchase by eBay
editOn 23 October 2013, it was announced by eBay that it had bought the firm and was aiming for one-hour delivery in the UK.[20]
As of 2018, Shutl Limited continued to be registered in London, as a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay International AG.[21]
eBay turned off integration with Shutl in July 2019.[22]
References
edit- ^ Son of the MP and espionage writer, as 'Nigel West', Rupert Allason
- ^ a b Moules, Jonathan (December 9, 2009). "Shutl offers online shoppers delivery in 90 minutes". Financial Times.
- ^ Jamie Riddell (11 December 2009). "90 minute delivery from your favorite online stores with Shutl". The Next Web, UK (part of the TNW family). Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ a b Butcher, Mike (9 October 2009). "Stealth-mode Shutl says it now has money". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ a b c Graham Charlton (9 December 2009). "Q&A: Tom Allason on e-commerce delivery startup Shutl". Econsultancy. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ "Amazon UK business founder backs Shutl online delivery service". ComputerWeekly. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d Robinson, Duncan (26 August 2012). "Courier service Shutl shifts up a gear". Financial Times.
- ^ Hermione Way (25 March 2010). "Think It All Happens In Silicon Valley? You're Wrong! Part 6:Shutl". The Next Web, UK (part of the TNW family). Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ James Hurley (4 August 2010). "Shutl to power 90-minute delivery service for Argos". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ "USPTO Issues Trademark: Shutl" (Aug. 9, 2011). US Fed News Service.
- ^ Barrett, Clear (Oct. 3, 2011). “Shutl expands to capture Christmas orders”. Financial Times.
- ^ a b c Mike Butcher (27 August 2012). "Shutl Preps US Launch For Same Day Delivery After $2M Round Led By UPS". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ a b Robinson, Duncan (Aug. 27, 2012). "Shutl eyes US launch from 'Silicon Roundabout'". Financial Times.
- ^ Wohlson, Marcus. "Same-Day Delivery Darling Shutl Takes on Amazon's Ground Game". Wired. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ Jackson, Steven (Aug. 23, 2012). “Shutl chases Usain Bolt”. The Weekly Gleaner.
- ^ "Winners 2012". RetailWeek. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ "1.Shutl". startups. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ "Winners of the National Business Awards 2012". National Business Awards UK. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ "People's Choice". The Europas. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ http://mail.ebay.co.uk/r/mail/51897II80b49aII1955e71d5aaII5 [dead link]
- ^ "Ebay to buy Shutl as it aims for one-hour delivery in UK - BBC News". BBC News. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
- ^ "Shutl Limited: Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016". Companies House. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.[dead link]
- ^ "Packlink to replace eBay delivery powered by Shutl". Tamebay. 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-08-09.