Solid Bond Announces Investment In Bricks-to-Clicks Retail Platform Saledock
Saledock is a unified ecommerce platform, inventory management, and in-store EPOS system.
Built from the ground up, Saledock started with a chance conversation at a local menswear store. Shopping for suits ahead of their wedding, software developers Layla and Lee Gladwin found themselves chatting with the owner about the difficulties the store was experiencing with their patched together retail systems.
A quick look at the retail software market soon told Layla and Lee that the menswear store certainly wasn’t alone in their struggle. Multiple clunky integrated systems across EPOS, ecommerce and inventory management coupled with poor customer support from existing providers were all contributing to an inadequate customer experience for many retailers.
Spotting a gap in the market and after consulting with other retailers, Layla and Lee decided to build an alternative. Saledock - a single, seamless all-in-one retail solution.
It worked. Retailers liked it. In fact, they loved it. Word of mouth, a little telemarketing, some PPC and exhibiting at local business events saw Saledock quickly build a thirty-strong client base.
Having proven the market demand for their product and seeing that numerous independent retailers and smaller retail chains faced a similar challenge, Saledock decided to raise a pre-seed round and were soon introduced to Solid Bond by another later-stage VC fund.
“Solid Bond’s founder Shaz and the team have so much retail experience,” says Layla, “experience from leading a telemarketing team all the way to scaling a full solution. That’s what really made them shine, their breadth of knowledge across all the important areas. Everybody has different skill sets and has been with us every step of the way.
From week one we had sales strategy, financial forecasting, channels to market and support with getting the right business development skills.”
Solid Bond’s Finance and Commercial Director Dan Dudley says "It's uncommon to see a product as advanced as Saledock at the pre-seed stage. The whole Solid Bond team have been impressed with their approach to building the platform alongside their customers. It's definitely been the reason they have made great traction at this stage in their journey and we are pleased to be a part of the journey with Layla and Lee."
Retailers often spend 10-15 times more than the cost of Saledock on systems which don’t integrate well and aren’t seamless. Saledock has built the platform which enables retailers to bring all their ecommerce and in store activity into 1 platform.
The recent funding round will enable Saledock to continue to build out the product, execute its go-to-market plans, and ramp up the sales team for what should be an exciting 2024 as more retailers adopt the platform.
