Berlin Brands Group lays off nearly 100 employees

The company is feeling the effects of lower growth in e-commerce. Now it is to make savings on its employees.

Online retail flourished during the Corona pandemic. Accordingly, the business of so-called store buyers, i.e. investors who bought small brands on Amazon in order to merge them into larger brands, also did well. This market now seems to be weakening. Berlin Brands Group (BBG) is also feeling the consequences. It is laying off about ten percent of its employees, or about 100 people.

The layoffs would mainly affect employees in Germany. "We are experiencing a deep break in the market. The industry's business model has often been exclusively focused on ensuring that acquired brands continue to grow steadily," Peter Chaljawski, founder of BBG told the Handelsblatt. This upward trend has been clouded by increased prices, among other factors, he said. "Previously, our priority was clearly aggressive growth; now the focus is on ensuring profitability," Chaljawski says.

BBG would now turn over every stone to cut costs. Just last year, the company first raised $240 million in January, then $700 million in September. According to market estimates, BBG generated more than 400 million in revenue in 2021.