Bookbot, an online platform for second-hand books currently establishing itself in the DACH market, announces a 4M EUR Series A funding round at a valuation of over 20M EUR led by new investor Genesis Growth Equity Fund I with the participation of existing shareholder Miton. After its foundation in Prague in 2019 and a rapidly unfolding success story that made Bookbot the biggest seller of second-hand books in the Czech Republic, Bookbot expanded to Slovakia in 2022, to Austria in the summer of 2023 and to Germany in the fall of 2023. The investment is dedicated to accelerate growth in the DACH market.

The market has proven hungry for customer-centric re-commerce solutions Re-commerce, the trade with used products, has become an industry that is greatly adopted by consumers and has proven lucrative for platform operators that facilitate a sustainable and frugal lifestyle. A recent study by MarkNtel Advisors forecasts an average annual growth of around 10.8 percent for the European re-commerce market between 2024 and 2030. In total, Bookbot, which allows customers to both sell and buy books, has sold more than 5 million books since it was founded. Since its recent market opening in the DACH region, customers have sent an incredible 750,000 books to Bookbot’s warehouse. While many are being sent traditionally via mail, Bookbot offers two additional ways for customers to hand in their used books: In Vienna, Bookbot cooperates with Thalia, Europe’s leading book retailer, whose stores operate as drop-off points for books, while in both Vienna and Berlin, Bookbot offers the “Book-Bote” service that picks up books directly from people’s homes during self-chosen pick-up slots in cooperation with sustainable urban logistics expert DODO.

And it is not only with the innovative concept of the Book-Bote that Bookbot sets itself apart from its competition: By photographing each incoming book individually including possible defects, Bookbot creates the most transparent, demystified and trustworthy solution for customers to buy used books online. The influx of books is also not restricted as with companies driven by a fast-turnover - thus, Bookbot builds a comprehensive spectrum of books that serves niche markets with high budgets.

Dominik Gazdos, CEO at Bookbot: “We are convinced that in order to create a first choice product for second-hand goods on the market, we have to be radically customer-centric. That is why we spend a lot of time speaking with our customers to identify practical and innovative technical solutions that make our service as comfortable and easy as possible. We are readily equipped to accelerate growth in the DACH market and beyond and will do so through systematically erasing the pains often falsely associated with second-hand by creating a top-notch customer experience. We’re happy to have the support of Genesis and Miton on this journey.”

An end to the re-commerce industry’s rapid growth is not in sight as relevant players continue to report massive growth figures year over year. Bookbot has projected a doubling of revenue to 24M EUR by the end of 2024 year over year, with the DACH market expected to make up for 50% of the company’s total revenue in 2025, only two years after its opening. The reasons for the shift towards re-commerce are manifold. One that stands out: While the sense of urgency to move towards a more sustainable lifestyle is increasing especially in the younger generations, the development of their full purchasing power is still lagging behind - in times of inflation, cheap solutions that are “as good as new” are highly sought after. At the same time, they are an expression of individuality as they are outside of the mainstream offer. “Bookbot sits in the sweet spot of having a proven market fit and being active in a growth industry,” comments Marilena Himmelreich, Head of Communications at Bookbot. “It will be fascinating to see the leaps in technical developments and the establishment of stores in Berlin and other German cities that will become possible with the new investment.”

Ondrej Pernica, Investment Manager at Genesis: “We see re-commerce as one of the simplest and most efficient approaches to sustainable and responsible customer behaviour. We were also impressed by the strong duo of founders and their indomitable desire to improve the business they are building and to find solutions to seemingly intractable problems and their clear vision to win large European markets. Thanks to all this, we believe that Bookbot is in a great position to grow further and repeat its success from Czechia and Slovakia.”

Michal Jirak, Investment Manager at Miton: “With Miton, we have been following Bookbot’s development since our first investment in 2021. The dedication of the team to go to the bottom of what radical customer orientation means paired not only with its incredible growth story in the Czech Republic that has propelled it to a market share of 5% in the book market but also its strong start in the DACH market coined among others by strong strategic partnerships leaves no doubt that Bookbot will be a successful case study for Western expansion.”