Romanian e-fulfillment provider Helpship attracted majority investment

The new partnership will further strengthen the market position of the combined group and unlock numerous benefits for its customers including new cross-border shipping services, faster transit times to various European countries, such as next-day delivery to Romania and Hungary, 48 hours to Bulgaria, 72 hours to Germany, Greece and other destinations, as well as a more seamless and integrated customer experience.

Helpship was founded in 2019 by Stefan Popa and Iosif Chesca, who recognized the need for a quality fulfillment service based on their own successful online store. The founders’ expertise in the e-commerce industry led them to develop their own cutting-edge Warehouse Management System (WMS), ensuring efficient and streamlined operations for optimal customer satisfaction. Its fulfillment warehouse in Oradea, Romania is strategically positioned close to the Romanian-Hungarian border and is well connected to the major highways. In 2023 the company is among the most successful and preferred fulfillment service providers by Romanian online merchants, processing more than 80.000 online orders each month.

Joining forces with one of the fastest-growing e-commerce logistics companies in the region is an important strategic next step in the development of Helpship. The consolidated Group will enable online merchants from the region to grow faster outside their home markets and expand swiftly into new international ones. The Romanian company will build on its expertise in fulfillment services by offering its customers easier selling to new destinations via a wide range of efficient and competitive shipping methods and last-mile partners. The new service of Helpship will be e-commerce cross-border deliveries from the addresses of the e-shops – regardless of their location within Romania.

euShipments.com brings over 10 years of experience in building and operating a highly efficient fulfillment and cross-border delivery network which combines the entire portfolio of services of more than 50 of the leading courier companies in Europe. As a result, the company offers its clients over 600 delivery methods throughout the continent. euShipments.com has experienced strong organic growth in its customer base, volume of processed international shipments, and revenues. As a result, the company secured a notable position in the respected Financial Times ranking, FT1000: Fastest Growing Companies in Europe for 2023.

“A new, exciting chapter in the development of Helpship begins and together with my entire team we are ready for the future challenges. Now, being part of the euShipments.com’s group the main goal behind this strategic partnership is our company to become the most competitive fulfillment provider in Romania, fully specialized in international eCommerce growth and delivery solutions. This way all Helpship clients can grow faster than ever in Romania, the region and all over Europe,” said Stefan Popa, founder, and CEO of HelpShip

Through the acquisition of Helpship, euShipments strengthens its presence on the Romanian market, a key stronghold for the global logistics frontrunner due to its exponential growth of online sales in recent years. This is the second strategic acquisition for euShipments since the investment from private equity fund BlackPeak Capital in 2022. It is a part of a broader M&A strategy to internationalize the business by establishing market leading positions in key markets in the CEE region and thus providing premium logistics, fulfilment, and shipping services to the leading eCommerce players from the region and beyond. At the end of last year euShipments acquired a majority stake in the Croatian fulfilment leader Pick&Pack.

“The business ideology of euShipments.com is to solve the logistics problems of online merchants. Therefore, it is important for us to follow the path of shipments and improve our operations in strategic places. Helpship as a high-quality fulfillment operator, together with its extremely favorable location, is a perfect fit for our business development purposes. With the financial support and mentorship of BlackPeak Capital, this acquisition allows us to position ourselves strongly “at the gateway between Eastern and Western Europe”, which is an invaluable advantage for our international eCommerce customers, ” shared Svetlozar Dimitrov, co-founder and CEO of euShipments.com

Stefan Popa, CEO of Helpship will continue to run the company, using the resources of euShipments to provide innovative logistics services to online stores in Romania and throughout the region. Svetlozar Dimitrov, CEO of euShipments.com and Vichren Bisset, CCO of euShipments.com will be joining the Board of Directors of Helpship.

“This acquisition marks an important milestone for euShipment’s growth strategy to partner with local champions like Helpship and empower founders like Stefan and his team to unlock real synergies for both businesses. We are confident that this will ultimately translate into value-added for the customers of both euShipments and Helpship and therefore for the consolidated Group. We congratulate Stefan, Iosif, Svetlozar, and Lora on the successful beginning of this new partnership,” added Angel Stefanov, Partner at BlackPeak Capital