Imperial acquires SA e-commerce startup ParcelNinja

Logistics company Imperial recently announced that it has acquired 60% of ParcelNinja. The deal took effect on 1 February. The e-commerce business offers outsourced warehousing and business to South African online shops, using its custom-developed warehouse system and fulfilment network.

Photo by Ruchindra Gunasekara on Unsplash

Imperial’s group chief executive officer, Mohammed Akoojee, said the following on the acquisition:

“Our digital strategy is a key enabler of our purpose, allowing us to build partnerships across our ecosystem, and to identify, pre-empt, integrate and own potentially disruptive technologies and businesses. Our digital strategy is both a driver of, and facilitated by, our 'One Imperial' strategy, and expanding our services into e-commerce, e-fulfilment and digital freight exchanges is an important component of this strategic pillar.”

Effective 1 February 2021, Imperial acquired a 60% stake in eCommerce logistics business ParcelNinja.

Read more here: https://t.co/RR3OjV5uI6 #Imperial #BeyondPossibility pic.twitter.com/mLNZAlzxwN
— Imperial (@Imperial_Logist) February 24, 2021

ParcelNinja has been on a rapid growth trajectory since the company was started in 2014. Now picking and packing over 18,000 items for around 3000 orders per day, the 6100m² warehouse in Johannesburg hosts upwards of half a million items on behalf of online shops across South Africa.

“Joining forces with Imperial is the next logical step in ParcelNinja’s journey to expand its reach while remaining sustainable. We are excited to welcome the ParcelNinja team on board and look forward to leveraging this partnership to expand our offering in both B2B and B2C channels for our clients and their customers,” concluded Akoojee.