The evolution of the grocery business includes greater integration of technology and data. That has been a tailwind for Austin-based Clerk Inc., a retail-tech company that just raised $30 million in series B funding.
The round was led by Connecticut-based investment firm Sageview Capital. Clerk will use the money to accelerate development of its software platform, which helps grocery stores and the companies that sell through them better manage product. A valuation was not disclosed.
"Although 90% of U.S. grocery sales still happen in stores, brands and retailers often don't have a simple way to manage store performance and product interactions like they do online," Clerk CEO Marlow Nickell said in a statement. "Our team wants to change that."
Clerk wants to provide vendor customers a view of their in-store performance, understanding how their products are selling and measuring customer engagement. Its software also tracks which items are out of stock.
Clerk, formerly known as Popspots, was co-founded in 2016 by Nickell, Don Oelke and Edward Cates. It raised a $5 million series A round a little more than two years ago, led by Silverton Partners, which fueled the company’s growth to a 350% increase in network size.
The funds also expanded the footprint of Grocery TV, Clerk’s digital advertising network featuring commercials in the checkout line, to all 50 states with more than 14,000 displays in retailers such as ShopRite and Cub Foods.
Clerk now has 31 employees. It currently lists five job openings on its website, including in sales, marketing and analytics.
Sageview partner Dean Nelson will join Clerk’s company board of directors, and Sageview principal Robert Avila will become a board observer. Sageview has more than $2 billion in assets under management. It has backed Austin companies such as Aceable and Atmosphere.
Get ABJ's latest list of local venture capital firms here, and see the list of angel investors here. A list of local startup incubators can be found here. For daily updates on fundings, hires and other news of interest to the startup community, sign up for Austin Inno's Beat newsletter.
