Shutl

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]

Shutl
Industry Delivery
Founded 2008
Key people
 Tom Allason
Products Transportation of goods
Parent eBay (since 2013)
Website Shutl.com

History

Shutl received £500k 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] During the summer, the service expanded into Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester,[10] with service to Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Liverpool following shortly thereafter.[10] By Christmas that year, Shutl extended its coverage to serve 50% of the UK’s online shoppers.[11] By mid-2012, Shutl operated in more than 50 UK cities and towns, serving 70% of UK shoppers.[12][10]

In 2012, Shutl executives began planning for a North American launch.[12][13] The company received a $2 million investment from the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund[12][6] and the French post office, La Poste, made a similar investment through its wholly owned subsidiary, Geopost.[6] Total funding was $8.6 million[10] and the launch took place in February 2013.[13][14]

In 2012, Shutl offered Jamaican sprinter and Olympic champion Usain Bolt a one-percent stake in the company in exchange for his endorsement.[15] The company won the 2012 DHL Online Fulfillment Initiative of the Year award,[16] and Startups.co.uk ranked Shutl at number 1 in their top 100 startups of the year.[17] In November 2012, the company won the National Business Awards Start-up Business of the Year award.[18]

In January 2013, Shutl won Best Transport, Travel or Environmental Startup at The Europas.[19]

Purchase by Ebay

On 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]

References

  1. 1 2 Moules, Jonathan (December 9, 2009). "Shutl offers online shoppers delivery in 90 minutes". Financial Times.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. 1 2 Butcher, Mike (9 October 2009). "Stealth-mode Shutl says it now has money". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Graham Charlton (9 December 2009). "Q&A: Tom Allason on e-commerce delivery startup Shutl". Econsultancy. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "Amazon UK business founder backs Shutl online delivery service". ComputerWeekly. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Robinson, Duncan (26 August 2012). "Courier service Shutl shifts up a gear". Financial Times.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ James Hurley (4 August 2010). "Shutl to power 90-minute delivery service for Argos". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "USPTO Issues Trademark: Shutl" (Aug. 9, 2011). US Fed News Service.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Shutl". CrunchBase. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  11. ↑ Barrett, Clear (Oct. 3, 2011). “Shutl expands to capture Christmas orders”. Financial Times.
  12. 1 2 3 Mike Butcher (27 August 2012). "Shutl Preps US Launch For Same Day Delivery After $2M Round Led By UPS". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  13. 1 2 Robinson, Duncan (Aug. 27, 2012). "Shutl eyes US launch from 'Silicon Roundabout'". Financial Times.
  14. ↑ Wohlson, Marcus. "Same-Day Delivery Darling Shutl Takes on Amazon's Ground Game". Wired. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Jackson, Steven (Aug. 23, 2012). “Shutl chases Usain Bolt”. The Weekly Gleaner.
  16. ↑ "Winners 2012". RetailWeek. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  17. ↑ "1.Shutl". startups. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  18. ↑ "Winners of the National Business Awards 2012". National Business Awards UK. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "People's Choice". The Europas. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  20. ↑ "Ebay to buy Shutl as it aims for one-hour delivery in UK - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  21. ↑ "Shutl Limited: Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016". Companies House. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
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