When Waldemar Moss and Piotr Stach founded expondo in Berlin in 2007, they started by selling products on eBay from their garage. In 2008, they developed their own e-commerce platform and started selling internationally. Today, with over 500 employees (in Germany, Poland, China), the company is covering 18 European countries. “From its inception, expondo has been profitable and steadily growing,” said Pascal Keck, Director for Crédit Mutuel Equity in Frankfurt. “Its turnover, with a growth rate superior to 30% per year, exceeded €110 million in 2021.”
Expondo offers niche products, mostly under its own brand, to the catering industry, to craftsmen and farmers, as well as to professionals in the healthcare or sports sectors. One of its strengths is the close collaboration between its Chinese team (over 40 people) and its suppliers, developing high-quality products, which are subject to rigorous testing.
Accelerating growth
Expondo’s strategy relies on winning new markets, beyond Europe, and on the expansion of its range to include new product categories. With Crédit Mutuel Equity taking a stake in the company, alongside the founders, the aim is to strengthen its CSR approach, optimise its supply chain, and implement a targeted acquisition strategy.
“Our first action was to help expondo put in place a Board of Directors, with e-commerce experts who will efficiently support its ambitions,” explained Pascal Keck. “The founders are very open-minded and know how to rely on people who can lead the company even further,” he added. The management team, built around the CEO Nicholas Holdcraft, is especially solid.