Multichannel
The Home Depot Acquires Local Online Marketplace Redbeacon
- 23rd January
- Neha Kale 289
The Home Depot’s acquisition of home services marketplace Redbeacon signals a potential shift from a big-box approach to a locally-focussed direction.
Home Depot has just acquired home services marketplace Redbeacon in a move set to tighten the retailer’s customer relationships while opening up new markets. The deal’s financial terms have not been disclosed.
RedBeacon lets customers browse and book local home service providers such as plumbers, roofers, painters and housecleaners. The company also offers customers a mobile app to let users source quotes on the go.
Founded by a trio of ex-Google employees in 2008, Redbeacon now operates across San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta, Seattle and Houston. It also secured $US7 million in investment funding last year – success it partly owes to the way customers have actively embraced the local marketplace model.
Although the Home Depot is yet to comment on the buyout, it offers the retailer an important competitive advantage in the home services space. The fact that the majority of Redbeacon users are likely to shop at Home Depot will open up new synergies, including the chance to gain better feedback, advertising opportunities and the ability to cross-sell product to consumers that use them most.
“The Home Depot is the perfect place for Redbeacon to achieve our vision even faster. Redbeacon and The Home Depot share many of the same core values around forward thinking, entrepreneurial spirit, excellent customer service, commitment to quality, and empowering pros and homeowners,” Redbeacon wrote on its blog on Friday. “We are excited about working with The Home Depot and continuing to improve the way consumers find and book home services together.”
