SAN FRANCISCO, February 21, 2012 – Fluid, Inc. a leader in digital commerce, today announced it has received a $24 million growth equity investment from funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The investment will power the expansion of Fluid\’s suite of SaaS-based merchandising solutions, and drive growth and innovation in agency services. The company expects to hire 200 new employees in the next two years across R&D, sales, marketing, customer support, delivery and agency operations.
“We have a proven track record of driving digital innovation for leading retailers and their customers. Through a decade-plus of experience working with brands like The North Face, Reebok, Sears, and Diapers.com, we have developed a powerful combination of SaaS software solutions, strategic insights, and inspired design and technology,” said Kent Deverell, CEO of Fluid. “We are thrilled to be engaging with Goldman Sachs in this transaction. They bring an incredibly broad and strategic perspective to our company and will be an invaluable partner as we seek to transform the digital retail landscape.”
Since its founding in 1999, Fluid has teamed up with retailers to design and deliver cutting-edge online experiences that strategically enhance conversions and consumer loyalty. Fluid is passionate about the importance of rich and interactive brand experiences, effective and impactful product merchandising, and social engagement in the selling process, and is uniquely positioned as an organization to enable those experiences. Through both its agency services and a suite of standalone SaaS solutions, Fluid has deep expertise across the entire ecommerce ecosystem. Agency services include end-to-end e-commerce deployments, customer experience strategy, user experience design, creative development, and engineering. The SaaS-based product family provides online retailers with the ability to offer dynamic product interactions through Fluid Experience, consumer-driven product customization through Fluid Configure, and social shopping and sharing opportunities through Fluid Social.
“Fluid knows how to connect with consumers and retailers. This investment will enable Fluid to continue to enhance its digital commerce products and services, while helping retailers stay on the cutting edge of meeting consumers\’ ever-changing demands,” said Gaurav Bhandari, managing director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
ThinkEquity served as exclusive financial advisor to Fluid in this transaction.
For information about Fluid, visit www.fluid.com
About Fluid
Fluid delivers award-winning digital agency services and transformative SaaS-based solutions that are focused on innovating digital commerce. Our work for world-class customers like The North Face, Quidsi Brands (Diapers.com, Soap.com, Wag.com, Casa.com), Sears, Benefit Cosmetics, JELD-WEN, and Brooks Brothers spans consumer experiences across the web, social and mobile. Brands and retailers tap our unique combination of custom consulting, design and development services, and our scalable, easy-to-implement Fluid Experience, Fluid Configure, and Fluid Social products to delight and engage today\’s digitally savvy consumers, while building engagement, increasing brand loyalty and driving conversions.
Fluid is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York and Chicago. For more information, visit www.fluid.com, and follow us on Twitter @Fluid or Facebook FluidInc.