digiDirect founder and owner, Shant Kradjian has acquired online retailer, Booktopia, which was placed into voluntary administration in early July.
Kradjian was among several high-profile bidders, which were rumoured to include Dymocks, Kogan.com, QBD Books and Woolworths.
Under Kradjian’s ownership, Booktopia will hire 100 new staff and is encouraging former Booktopians to apply to join the brand.
While digiDirect and Booktopia will remain separate entities, the new owners believe there are significant opportunities to revitalise the business and introduce systems and processes, leveraging Kradjian’s experience expanding digiDirect over the past 18 years.
“There are clear opportunities for shared expertise and efficiencies that will eventually create a better experience for Booktopia and digiDirect customers, however that is a conversation for down the road,” Kradjian said.
Aiming to resume operational processes prior to formally relaunching in late August, a key focus for the new team is an easy transition that caters to the needs of its suppliers, publishers, and customers.
Kradjian said the acquisition of the bookseller was a perfect fit in his portfolio, considering digiDirect’s already proven retailing model.
“digiDirect sells a broad range of consumer goods, and expanding into new retail verticals where we can leverage that experience is something I’ve wanted to do,” he said.
“Booktopia is an iconic consumer brand and is also an imperative part of the Australian book industry – it’s Australia’s ‘home of books’. I’m excited about this acquisition and glad it could be kept in Australian hands.”
The Booktopia acquisition includes the Angus & Robertson and Co-Op Bookshop brands and around $14 million in inventory. Kradjian intends to immediately invest millions into rejuvenating the company’s inventory.
“Booktopia’s Sydney customer fulfilment centre is a fully automated facility run by robotics and state-of-the-art auto-packing machines, which executed over 1.8 million orders in the 12 months leading to the administration,” he said.
“The Booktopia infrastructure and systems are very good, and we believe that with some investment and the right team and strategy, we’re well-placed for growth.”