We didn't know it at the time, but more than 20 years ago my best friend and I embarked on a journey. It began with little more than Nick Bauer taking a few parts from his parents' shelf, waiting for the AOL dial-up internet to connect, and listing eBay auctions for Volvo 240 oil filters, BMW E30 trunk struts, and Saab ignition cassettes.
In the years that followed, "FCP Groton" became highly coveted by our small yet loyal customer base. We recognized the potential in front of us, started to think about a larger vision, and eagerly became students of business, despite our complete lack of experience in strategy, operations, finance, e-commerce, or company culture.
In 2012, after a decade of learning, experimenting, applying, failing, and succeeding, we made several key discoveries. We realized the power of a strong team and culture, recognized the profound impact of exceptional customer service on business success, and understood the unwavering trust we could gain from our customers by never compromising on the quality of our offering. We also identified our hedgehog concept, which was that we had the potential to become the best in the world at selling European parts online. It was at this point that our true growth potential was unlocked, and FCP Euro emerged.
We take immense pride in our journey, having grown our e-commerce business to over $200 million in annual revenue, bootstrapped for the first 15 years, and then leveraging debt and strong free cash flow to take us to where we are today. While numerous opportunities arose over the past 20 years to bring on equity partners, we never found the right fit.
As we look forward to the next decade, we see a massive opportunity to transform FCP Euro into the market-leading global European parts company. To ensure we can execute this vision, we're excited to announce that we've completed a $25 million Series A investment from a prominent private investment firm with co-investments from long-term partners Stonehenge Capital and automotive industry veteran David Coolidge. This is accompanied by a new $25 million revolving line of credit courtesy of long-partners at JPMorgan Chase & Co.. Nick and I remain at the helm and committed to the vision, mission, and values that are deeply rooted in FCP Euro.
There are countless individuals who deserve our gratitude in this post. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who played a part in making this achievement possible, regardless of the size of their contribution.
We’re entering an exciting new stage of growth for FCP Euro, and we couldn't be more excited.
Special thanks to the State of Connecticut DECD, Alexandra Daum, Robert Hotaling, Kara Sene and Paul O. Robertson the support of FCP Euro. We are proud to be a Connecticut-based company and will continue to invest in Connecticut as we grow and thrive in the coming years.
Thank you JP Morgan, William H. Creaser, Diane, and Amy (Ukena) Lessner for your unwavering commitment to FCP Euro.
Today marks a significant milestone in FCP Euro’s journey as we announce the completion of our Series A financing round. This minority investment of $25 million plays a pivotal role in expanding our ability to serve our community better.
We’re excited to share this milestone with our customers, partners, family, and friends.
Read more here:
https://lnkd.in/eij6YeC7
Vice President Sales at MEYLE AG
10moWow guys, what a nice milestone this is. We are looking forward to supporting you and make even more MEYLE products for your customers available.