We are thrilled to announce that we have invested in Brauz, an omnichannel experience platform that bridges the gap between digital and physical shopping, turning more browsers into buyers.
What does Brauz do?
Brauz creates experiences that connect customers to staff in-store and help them complete their transactions more easily. Brauz’s mission is to turn more browsers into buyers and help retailers grow.
Why did Scalare invest?
The Problem
There is a disconnect between our digital and physical retail experiences. While customers want a personalised, human touch, they are attracted to the ease and efficiency of buying online. Consequently, businesses are compelled to invest significant resources – both in terms of time and capital – to bridge this gap.
The Solution
Brauz is an omnichannel experience platform, which closes the divide between digital and physical shopping.
Brauz provides an instant connection to staff through a range of easy-to-plugin experiences:
Find In-Store
Reserve In-Store
Click and Collect
Ship from Store including 2-hour delivery via Uber Direct
In-Store Appointments
Video appointments via Zoom
What is an omnichannel experience, and what does excellence look like?
It's about meeting the customer where and when they want. Brauz’s dynamic ‘find in-store’ has changed the way customers shop. For those who aren't quite ready to purchase, customers can choose to Reserve In-Store; the ideal solution to turn at-risk traffic into high-converting customers.
More than that, Brauz help drive conversion online by offering a multitude of convenient fulfilment options with its Click and Collect and Uber 2-hour Delivery.
All this critical information is given to the customer right when they need it most – when they are making a purchasing decision.
The Brauz platform enables retail businesses to simply manage experiences, automate responses via SMS and email and access customer data for a 360 view that has proven to increase conversion and order values.
Brauz is proud to be at the forefront of this retail innovation and its vision is to become the go-to omnichannel platform for retailers around the world.
The Market
With 140,000+ retailers in Australia, Brauz has identified a gap in the market for servicing the middle market retailers (1+ online stores and 2-99 physical locations) who have graduated from the free integrations such as Shopify, Square and Woo, but are not at the Enterprise level (multiple online stores, 100+ physical locations) who have e-commerce integration options available from $100K upwards (think Salesforce commerce cloud, BigCommerce and Adobe Commerce).
A recent insight from GlobalData Plc, states that "the amount that consumers integrate offline and online channels throughout their purchase journey will increase to make up 51.3% of total spend in 2026."
Omnichannel is now booming and is only going to continue to grow.
Competitors
Retailers looking to enable these experiences can spend upwards of $100k and over 12 months to implement. With Brauz, retailers can go live within the month at a fraction of the cost, with a retailer's average spend at $13k per year.
In terms of competition, Brauz’s only direct competitor is Stockinstore. Customers moving from Stockinstore to Brauz have seen a 150% increase in orders, which is partly accredited to the ability to sell more SKUs due to Brauz’s ability to free up more stock to be sold across more locations.
A key competitive advantage to using Brauz is its stock and order rules, range of experiences and direct integrations – with shipping partners that give retailers all they need to achieve a successful omnichannel strategy within two weeks of integration.
The Product/ Technology
Brauz offers businesses convenience and immediacy by connecting customers to the most convenient place to complete their transactions. With a range of offerings starting at $5000 per annum, retailers can be onboarded quickly and efficiently.
Benefits of Brauz include:
Self-onboarding, 4 hours integration time
‘Sticky’ Solutions, 98% customer retention in past 3 years
Product-led growth, SaaS revenue model based on the number of users plus monthly usage
Brauz also offers custom builds and enterprise options.
The Team
CEO and Co-Founder Lee Hardham brings 10 years of omnichannel retail experience along with 22 years of sales and management experience, and a background in account management and business development at NewsCorp.
CTO and Co-Founder Rajesh Yeluri boasts 20 years of systems architecture, data and security experience, along with 7 years of omnichannel retail experience. His experience includes roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland, NAB and Deloitte.
The founders are supported by a seasoned advisory team with significant e-commerce, fintech, governance, accounting and sales, and marketing experience.
Scalare is confident in the team’s expertise in the field of omnichannel retail experience, and passion for solving customer challenges with technology.
Momentum
Brauz has grown its customer base by 300% in the last 18 months. They currently service over 40 retailers, including brands such as Nike, Forever New, Under Armour, Puma, Michael Hill, MJ Bale, CUE Clothing, Kate Spade, Coach, Zimmermann and Samsung.
Brauz is achieving significant results for its customers, with Reserve In-Store increasing online conversion and revenue in-store, with customers saying:
“Average order values are 5 times that of in-store and online sales” - Cue Clothing
“In-store sales grew 13% in 2021 thanks to reserve in-store” Michael Hill Jewellers -
“60% of all our online orders are attributed to Brauz” - BestFriends Pets
Brauz was delighted to win the award for Critical Technology (Web 3.0) & Cybersecurity at the 2023 Australian Technologies Competition.
Investment & Engagement
Scalare will be working closely with Brauz to deliver support in a range of business areas. Carolyn Breeze, Scalare Partners CEO, will join the Brauz board as Non-Executive Director and support Lee, Raj and the team with their expansion plans.
If you wish to discuss further, please contact Carolyn Breeze for an introduction to the Brauz team.
About Scalare
At Scalare, we’re on a mission to create a greater impact by building a collaborative network that connects exceptional founders, advisors and investors in a unique and powerful partnership, because real transformation and growth takes more than money.
Our unique collaboration and partnership model provides clear pathways to global investors, experts and markets. We plug existing skills gaps in our portfolio companies – from our best-of-breed advisor network – to bring, expert resources exactly when needed to facilitate growth and deliver exceptional returns to investors and founders alike. Find out more >
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