The Press Release:
Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE; EEX), the owner and organizer of NY NOW®, the wholesale market for retail where brands, buyers, and designers gather to connect and discover, today announced the acquisition of Bulletin Inc, a wholesale marketplace connecting over 3,000 independent brands with over 26,000+ retailers.
All Bulletin employees will join Emerald as part of the acquisition, including co-founders Alana Branston and Ali Kriegsman. The co-founders will remain committed to and lead the future growth and success of both Bulletin and NY NOW, with Branston moving into an expanded role of Group Vice President, Gift & Home and Kriegsman moving into the role of Vice President, Strategy, Gift & Home.
The acquisition of Bulletin will elevate the experience for wholesale buyers to discover a broader array of innovative brands and makers via a fusion of in-person and e-commerce offerings, creating a 24/7 platform for brands and retailers to connect and transact with each other. Further, the merger will infuse the iconic NY NOW Gift and Home Show with Bulletin’s entrepreneurial spirit, industry expertise and extensive customer base of brands and retailers. The union of these two platforms will provide small businesses access to a solution that allows them to fuel innovation and design and provide buyers with year-round inspiration and discovery.
“NY NOW is experiencing a period of transformation and revival,” said Karalynn Sprouse, EVP, Emerald. “The combination of Bulletin and NY NOW not only provides us with a dynamic platform that delivers year-round discovery and engagement, but Alana, Ali, and the Bulletin team’s thought leadership, forward-looking perspectives, and extensive network of makers, designers, influencers, and media will serve as new pathways of expression and creativity. In addition, this union reconfirms our unwavering commitment to NY NOW, especially as our 100th anniversary of being the preeminent resource for the Gift and Home industry grows near.”
“We see a massive opportunity to combine the efficiencies of our leading digital platform with the pure magic of an iconic in-person event,” says Alana Branston, Bulletin’s CEO and Co-founder. “During the pandemic, our industry lost a lot of its humanity despite the explosion of wholesale e-commerce and became very transaction-driven and impersonal. Because of this, it’s grown harder for brands and buyers to broker real, enduring relationships. So, we’re excited to rethink and revamp NY NOW’s format, programming, and positioning to guarantee an in-person show that puts those relationships front-and-center, underpinned by transactions and commerce at the event and year-round. It’s exactly what our customers have been asking for.”
The Bulletin marketplace supports independent brands like Piecework Puzzles, Apotheke, Golde, Kitsch and Brightland, and powers wholesale discovery and order management for innovative online-only retailers like Fast AF and social shopping app Flip, as well as a diverse pool of brick-and-mortar stores like Prelude & Dawn, Onatah General Store, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Friends NYC, and thousands more. For more information on NY NOW and Bulletin or to inquire about participating in the upcoming Summer Market taking place August 14-17, 2022, at the Jacob Javits Center, NYC, please email: NY NOW: Amy Hornby, [email protected] or Bulletin: Rachel Krug, [email protected]
Emerald was exclusively represented and advised by Progress Partners.
About Bulletin Inc: Bulletin’s wholesale marketplace connects 3,000 independent brands with over 26,000 online-only and omni-channel retailers all over the U.S. The platform offers a consumer-grade discovery, checkout and order management experience for buyers sourcing inventory from its platform, transforming a once-manual process with line-sheets, phone calls and emails between buyer and seller into a seamless and central transaction for both parties. For more information, please visit: www.bulletin.co
About NY NOW: NY NOW is today’s wholesale market for tomorrow’s retail world. Rich with diverse products for discerning retailers, museum stores and specialty buyers. Where artisans meet designers, celebrate creativity and tell their stories. Where eclectic products shine, from home style to fashion statements, from amazing accessories to the perfect gift. Twice a year in New York City, America’s design capital. NY NOW is the best platform to build brand exposure. To generate leads and write orders. For more information, please visit: www.nynow.com
About Emerald: Emerald’s talented and experienced team grows our customers’ businesses 365 days a year through connections, content, and commerce. We expand connections that drive new business opportunities, product discovery, and relationships with over 140 annual events, matchmaking, and lead-gen services. We create content to ensure that our customers are on the cutting edge of their industries and are continually developing their skills. And we power commerce through efficient year-round buying and selling. We do all this by seamlessly integrating in-person and digital platforms and channels. Emerald is immersed in the industries we serve and committed to supporting the communities in which we operate. As true partners, we create experiences that inspire, amaze, and deliver breakthrough results. For more information, please visit: www.emeraldx.com (linked below)
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Piercing Ken Thoughts: This is some interesting news don’t you think? So I will admit to not being as savvy to what Bulletin is at the time of this news announcement but I have just learned that I will be in attendance at the upcoming NY NOW show at the Javits Center. I think this marks my fifth time going as a member of the media and those who are following our moves will be able to follow along with me via the social networks for this website. The last time around we found the show to be scaled back quite a bit but that was likely due to the pandemic. Now as we move closer to some kind of normal, I will enjoy seeing a larger presentation. So that wraps this one up for me and I wonder if you readers have anything to add. It would be especially nice to hear from those who also attend this trade show. See you next time, please stay safe out there.
Official: http://www.emeraldx.com