14 DAY TRIAL // Alice.com, an online shopping startup, has raised $4 million in a second round of funding according to a SEC filing. The site was launched earlier this year and it provides an alternative way for consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers to reach their customers directly, having also raised interest thanks to its innovative business model.
The company already raised $4.3 million in 2008 from Kengonsa Capital Partners and DaneVest Capital several months before the site was launched. It has now revealed that it has secured an additional $4 million but hasn't disclosed the investor or investors. Furthermore, it is also looking to gather another $2 million in this round, to a total of $6 million. The company confirmed the new funding but didn't offer any additional information.
Alice.com was launched in June 2009 as an online store with a twist. It focuses on household items, from shampoo to toilet paper, and offers users a way to track their usage and to notify them when they may be running low on an item. Users can create a profile of their household on the site and Alice will send them an email when they could need something refilled. The purchases are delivered to their homes with no shipping costs and the site has some very competitive prices thanks to its unique business model.
While traditional retailers, even online ones, make their profits from the markup they add to the products sold, Alice.com doesn't take a cut from the products it sells but rather makes money from advertising. By dealing directly with CPG manufacturers it provides them with a straight channel to the consumer eliminating the middle man while also managing to keep prices down. At the same time, because it keeps track of what the users are buying, it can offer valuable information on their spending behavior while also making it easy for advertisers to target the customers most likely to be interested.