Specialty E-Commerce Business
This acquisition opportunity centers on a niche e-commerce business that sells customized home organization solutions, including drawer inserts, closet accessories, and modular kitchen storage systems. The company designs, assembles, and ships products directly to consumers through its Shopify-powered online storefront, supported by a combination of contract manufacturers and an in-house fulfillment team. With trailing twelve-month revenue of $4.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $850,000, the business enjoys strong margins due to vertical integration of product design, minimal physical retail overhead, and average order values above industry norms.
Founded in 2017, the business has seen steady year-over-year growth, largely attributable to organic SEO ranking, high-converting paid media funnels, and strong word-of-mouth driven by its made-to-order, customizable product line. The company has over 48,000 past customers and a current email list of 97,000 subscribers, with roughly 30% of revenue generated through repeat business or reorders.
A buyer evaluating this business must focus on several key structural and strategic elements: supply chain risk, fulfillment capacity, product margin discipline, customer acquisition dependency, and back-office automation. The business is ideal for SBA 7(a) acquisition financing, but deal terms must be thoughtfully constructed to mitigate volatility risk, avoid key-person dependencies, and create space for SKU expansion or rationalization post-close.
SBA 7(a) Acquisition Structure
A sample transaction under SBA 7(a) lending could be structured as follows:
Purchase Price: $3.2 million (3.76x EBITDA)
SBA Loan: $2.4 million (75%)
Buyer Equity Injection: $320,000 (10%)
Seller Financing (Subordinated): $480,000 (15%), interest-only for 12 months, amortized over 48 months with inventory continuity and revenue performance clauses
This transaction assumes an asset purchase structure, including all physical inventory, IP, domains, customer lists, and operating equipment. The seller note should be structured with downside protection for the buyer in the event of fulfillment disruption, third-party supplier termination, or revenue drop exceeding 20% during the first 120 days post-close.
Supply Chain and Inventory Considerations
The business currently works with three regional suppliers for raw materials (plywood, finishing laminate, hardware) and two contract shops that cut, edge-band, and pre-drill components based on CAD files provided by the company. Final assembly and packaging take place in a leased 4,800 square foot facility with six full-time warehouse employees.
Buyers must assess whether key supplier relationships are under contract or handshake-based. Ideally, material purchase agreements with price ceilings and 60-90 day cancellation notice clauses should be in place. If not, the buyer should seek to implement these as part of post-close stabilization. Supplier continuity should also be addressed in the seller note with a covenant clause: if any vendor supplying more than 15% of total raw materials terminates without replacement within 60 days, a partial forgiveness clause should apply.
Inventory is managed on a just-in-time model, with raw material held in the warehouse for no more than 21 days on average. Finished goods inventory rarely exceeds a 5-day rolling supply. While this model is capital efficient, it introduces disruption risk if lead times spike. Buyers may wish to shift toward a 14–21 day finished goods inventory model for best-selling SKUs and high-velocity configurations.
SKU Rationalization and Product Margin Discipline
The current catalog includes 310 live SKUs, though 90% of revenue is generated by just 37 SKUs.
Buyers should initiate a SKU rationalization project immediately post-close to:
Identify low-velocity SKUs that tie up disproportionate inventory or fulfillment labor
Consolidate overlapping SKUs that cannibalize higher-margin products
Test bundling opportunities to increase average order value (AOV)
Introduce subscription-based add-ons for refills, accessories, or seasonal kits
Each SKU should be analyzed by gross margin contribution, return/refund frequency, average fulfillment time, and post-purchase upsell potential. For instance, drawer inserts that require custom width sizing introduce complexity during assembly and shipping, but they also have the highest customer LTV and repeat order frequency. Buyers should resist the temptation to standardize too aggressively without understanding margin contribution by customer cohort.
Fulfillment Operations and Staffing
The business leases a clean, well-lit warehouse and employs:
1 Fulfillment Manager
2 Assemblers
3 Packers
1 Customer Support Associate (shared with marketing)
The seller currently oversees final QA, vendor coordination, and Shopify back-end updates, averaging 25 hours per week.
A buyer must identify either:
A general manager or fulfillment lead to absorb these duties post-close
A fractional COO-level operator or consultant to document and transition workflows within 60–90 days
The current warehouse lease is $4,600/month gross with two years remaining and a 3-year renewal option. Equipment includes CNC routers, packaging stations, shrink wrap systems, and custom box cutters. The asset purchase agreement should include all equipment (estimated value: $95,000) free of liens. A capital improvement reserve of $20,000–$30,000 is advisable for upgrades or replacements within the first 18 months.
Customer Acquisition and Marketing Channels
Customer acquisition is highly systematized and diversified across:
Google Ads / Shopping (27%)
Meta Ads (Instagram/Facebook – 34%)
SEO / Organic Search (21%)
Email / SMS (11%)
Affiliate and Influencer Partnerships (7%)
Cost of customer acquisition (CAC) on paid channels averages $24.85, with AOV hovering around $141. Email conversion rates are strong (3.6%), and email flows include welcome series, cart abandonment, upsell sequences, and win-back campaigns.
The business uses Klaviyo for email, Attentive for SMS, and Triple Whale for attribution modeling. These systems are well-integrated but not documented in SOP form. A buyer should prioritize creating a full marketing tech stack SOP document for redundancy and scalability.
Post-acquisition opportunities include:
Launching a loyalty rewards program
Expanding into Amazon as a secondary DTC channel
Segmenting customers by past order behavior to deliver more personalized product recommendations
Offering “design your own kit” modules to increase engagement and virality
The brand currently does not participate in Black Friday / Cyber Monday heavily, missing out on key seasonal spikes. Incorporating annual promo strategy tied to real events (spring cleaning, back to school, etc.) can drive seasonal spikes in revenue and reduce dependency on constant PPC spend.
Legal and Regulatory Review
This business is not heavily regulated but requires basic consumer protection, data privacy, and product liability compliance.
The buyer must ensure:
All customer data practices are GDPR and CCPA compliant (email opt-ins, cookie disclosures, unsubscribe functionality)
All supplier agreements clearly outline ownership of custom component molds or design IP
Website and checkout flows meet ADA accessibility guidelines (especially for businesses over $2M revenue)
Liability insurance ($1M per occurrence) is current and that all claims are properly documented
Any trademarks (including brand name and proprietary product names) are transferred and registered in buyer’s name at close
The seller represents that there are no active consumer complaints, BBB disputes, or chargeback issues above industry norms.
Financial Systems and Working Capital
Accounting is maintained in QuickBooks Online, with monthly bank reconciliations and accrual-basis financials. The buyer should confirm that cost of goods sold (COGS) includes inbound freight, packaging, labor, and chargebacks. If it does not, normalized EBITDA should be adjusted downward accordingly.
Post-close working capital needs include:
Inventory purchase (~$90,000)
Two-week payroll reserve (~$28,000)
Marketing ramp-up spend (~$15,000–$25,000)
Consulting or transition staffing (~$20,000)
Gross margins sit around 64%, net margins post-SBA debt service should range from 12% to 15%, with room for expansion through improved fulfillment efficiency and AOV lifts.
Ideal Buyer Profile
This business is ideal for:
Digital marketers looking to transition into ownership
Amazon FBA operators seeking to diversify into Shopify-native channels
Manufacturing entrepreneurs looking to vertically integrate e-commerce and light assembly
Investors seeking to build an e-commerce roll-up in home goods, organization, or lifestyle brands
Execution Priorities Post-Acquisition
Within the first 100 days, the buyer should:
Secure all vendor and software transitions
Conduct SKU rationalization and introduce high-margin bundles
Recruit or elevate a warehouse operations manager
Launch segmented email flows tied to past order behavior
Create contingency fulfillment SOPs for unexpected volume spikes or equipment failure
If executed correctly, this business can serve as a foundational asset in a portfolio of niche DTC brands. It already possesses strong fundamentals, durable customer relationships, and product-market fit. Strategic upside lies in operational leverage, margin optimization, and catalog expansion, all of which can drive EBITDA beyond $1.2M within 18–24 months under capable management and modest investment.
The deal is well-suited for SBA financing due to its clean books, U.S.-based operations, recurring customer cohort behavior, and low customer concentration. With appropriate diligence and post-close discipline, this acquisition represents a durable digital cash flow engine in a category with long-term consumer demand.
