Emerald Holdings, Inc.’s acquisition of e-commerce and digital merchandising-solutions company PlumRiver will extend the business-to-business platform builder’s events reach for its extensive show portfolio, which includes Surf Expo, whose January 2020 edition is shown above featuring Pukka, Inc. | Photo courtesy of Emerald Holdings, Inc.
EMERALD ACQUIRES PLUMRIVER
Emerald Acquires PlumRiver, Creator of the Elastic Suite Platform
The business-to-business platform builder Emerald Holdings, Inc., announced its acquisition of the business-to-business e-commerce and digital-merchandising solutions provider PlumRiver to cultivate its software-as-a-service technology. The State College, Penn.–headquartered PlumRiver, through its Elastic Suite platform, allows brands and retail buyers to streamline wholesale buying.
“Over the course of 2020, we launched many digital-product offerings focused on customer engagement, new-customer acquisition and delivering high-value customer solutions. From our customers’ feedback, the highest value of these needs is clearly centered on the transaction between buyer and seller,” Brian Field, Emerald’s chief operating officer, said. “Through our acquisition of PlumRiver and the Elastic platform, we now have the capability to offer a full spectrum of bundled solutions to our customers—from product discovery and lead-generation to transaction—across both in-person, face-to-face events as well as year-round, digital opportunities.”
Through its new digital-commerce capabilities, Emerald will provide greater transactional functionality, affording enterprise-level integration with brands’ ERP systems. These changes will afford more-efficient order management, real-time inventory monitoring and product merchandising. As a show producer that hosts more than 140 events each year, including Outdoor Retailer, Surf Expo, Active Collective and Swim Collective, Emerald will be able to expand its audience. Emerald President and Chief Executive Officer Hervé Sedky sees this addition to Emerald as an important step in its evolution.
“The acquisition of PlumRiver is a natural extension of our live-events business; we can now offer a complementary, year-round interaction and transaction platform. PlumRiver’s technology is already used by world-class clients and will foster increased engagement between Emerald and our customers. Importantly, the Elastic B2B eCommerce SaaS solution is expected to strengthen our existing live events, expanding both their relevance and growth profile while also bringing an additive subscription-based revenue stream to Emerald.”
As a web-based applications provider that specializes in tools that serve manufacturers and wholesalers within specialty-retail market segments such as the outdoor, surf, footwear, apparel, cycling and sporting-goods categories, PlumRiver is a solid fit for Emerald. The move was welcomed by John Marchione, the company’s co-founder.
“We are thrilled to join Emerald to bring our innovative, market-driven solutions and efficiencies to thousands of brands and retailers across the globe in a rapidly expanding B2B digital economy,” Marchione said. “We are equally excited for the many new opportunities for our team members.”
