German online shopping service Hitmeister has landed a seven-figure investment in its latest round of funding. The money has come from existing investors, led by the New York fund Tiger Global which has also put funding into Facebook, Zynga and LinkedIn.
Cologne-based service Hitmeister is one of Germany’s biggest shopping portals, with more than 12 million new and used products currently available. It said the round marked a continued aggressive pursuit of growth, an expansion of its business activities and a strengthening of mobile commerce. Gerald Schönbucher, co-founder and CEO of Hitmeister, said: “Since our launch in November 2007, we have achieved a lot. Our trading volume is growing by 70-100 percent a year and is now into eight figures. For many of our partners, Hitmeister has become one of the most relevant sales channels. With the latest round, we want to be where we see the biggest leverage, and press even harder on the gas pedal.”
The funds will be used primarily to further improve the product, while another focus is the expansion of mobile commerce – in addition to an Android app, a revised version of the Hitmeister iOS app is also on the agenda.
Currently boasting 40 employees, the company also wants to increase staffing levels further. “Our customer service gets top marks, and that should remain so; therefore we are looking in particular for new colleagues,” Schönbucher added.