BV Investment Partners has completed a recapitalisation of The Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing Company (ECRM), an integrated marketing services, software and data provider serving consumer product manufacturers and retailers.
The investment in ECRM will make BV the majority shareholder and is being done in partnership with ECRM’s founding family and Greg Farrar, the incoming chief executive.
ECRM was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Solon, Ohio. ECRM lends efficiency to the buying and selling process between consumer product manufacturers and retailers by operating a portfolio of highly focused, technology-enabled purchasing events. These events are enabled by ECRM’s proprietary, mobile-optimised software suite MarketGate, which streamlines interactions between trading partners before, during and after events. ECRM also provides product promotional data and related analytics tools to retailer and consumer packaged goods clients nationwide through its Ad Comparisons data service. The company serves manufacturers and retailers within a number of key product categories including health and beauty care, general merchandise, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, electronics and others.
Justin H Harrison, a managing director at BV, says: "In many categories ECRM has become a critical component of the retail supply chain. The company’s unique events, software and data solutions are embedded in its customers’ work process and lend efficiency to the mission-critical buying, selling and promotional planning processes. We look forward to working with Greg and Mitch to drive the Company’s growth within its existing offerings and through expansion into new verticals."
ECRM co-founder Mitch Bowlus will remain a significant shareholder in the company. Bowlus says: "My father and I founded ECRM together nearly 20 years ago. We met the BV team several years ago and we really clicked based on their experience partnering with families and their deep knowledge in the information services sector. They understand our business and how to help companies at our stage expand and evolve rapidly. I’m excited to partner with BV to help bring the company that my father and I built together to its next stage of growth."
Farrar formerly served as president of Nielsen Business Media and has held executive roles at VNU Expositions, Trade Only Design Library and Bill Communications, a former BV portfolio company.
Farrar says: "ECRM is an incredibly unique business that I have followed and admired for many years. I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead the company. With the additional resources from BV there is no limit to the growth we can achieve."
Harrison will be joined by Gerald Hobbs, Dan O’Shea and Justin Garrison on ECRM’s board of directors. Hobbs is BV’s operating partner and former chairman and CEO of VNU and O’Shea is a member of BV’s operating advisory board and the former CIO of The Nielsen Company. Garrison is a senior associate at BV.
