When Jeff Bezos launched Amazon as an online bookshop in 1995, there were few who truly appreciated the potential of e-commerce. By 2025, aided and abetted by the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce sales as a proportion of all retail sales are forecast to reach 20%, up from just 7% in 2015.
But with success come challenges. As Australians increasingly make purchases online, fast and frequent last-mile delivery options have become a key expectation. Poor delivery experiences including late arrivals, missed deliveries, inconvenient delivery options are among the irritations driving consumers to alternative retailers
This is the problem that HUBBED founder and CEO David McLean decided to solve. “HUBBED was designed to address a gap in the eCommerce market. Our solution for last mile delivery and returns logistics helps alleviate some of those pain points in online purchasing for consumers, carriers and retailers.”
The company has secured a $12 million investment from ABGF, which incorporates a 30 per cent voting interest for the fund.
Consumers historically haven’t had a choice in how their online purchases are delivered. Now they do. HUBBED has created a technology-enabled Pick-Up-Drop-Off (PUDO) consumer collection solution that allows further choices for carriers, retailers and consumers.
This technology allows consumers to choose when and where they receive their parcels from across 2,150 convenient locations nationally, including outlets such as 7-Eleven, BP, National Storage and independent retailers. It’s an alternative to the traditional high-cost and environmentally unfriendly home delivery model.
HUBBED’s proprietary technology is customer agnostic, so it seamlessly integrates into third-party systems whether those be carriers, aggregators, marketplaces or other e-commerce platforms. This alleviates the business-to-consumer last mile delivery pain and makes e-commerce deliveries easier, faster and cheaper. Local and global carriers already using this environmentally sustainable delivery solution include CouriersPlease, DHL, FedEx, Sendle, Toll Group, TNT Express and UPS.
Says David: “ABGF’s investment will provide an opportunity for HUBBED to scale up collection points to 3,000 nationwide. We will expand the magnitude of collections services for consumers and partners, accelerate new last-mile service offerings, and give the business access to active advisors.”
From the moment HUBBED reached out to ABGF, the Fund offered a different experience to that which HUBBED had encountered elsewhere – from its user-friendly website to a team that was genuinely interested in understanding the HUBBED business and growth prospects.
“ABGF is just different,” says David. “The people at ABGF want me to be successful. They are invested in building our business through a collaborative, transparent partnership. I’m comfortable being vulnerable with them. Ultimately, I was just as interested in creating a well-structured deal as I was in ensuring I could continue to work with them.”
With ABGFs investment, HUBBED has a substantial growth trajectory. The investment will be used to scale up location collection points to 3,000 nationwide, solidifying its position as Australia’s second largest footprint for delivery/collection locations. The investment will also accelerate new last-mile service offerings, providing greater options and flexibility for businesses, carriers and consumers.
“We look for organisations that can demonstrate a proven business model and just need that boost to accelerate organisational success,” explains ABGF Co-Head of Investment Ghazaleh Lyari. “HUBBED is a great Australian business that identifies a gap in the e-commerce market. We’re excited to be on this journey with them.”
