TCV acquires stake in retail solutions provider RELEX Solutions

Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) has made a $200 million minority investment in Finland-based RELEX Solutions (RELEX), a leading provider of retail planning solutions – including supply chains – according to a RELEX press release.

TCV is one of the largest providers of capital to growing technology companies. It previously supported industry-leading companies such as Airbnb, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), Splunk (NASDAQ: SPLK), Spotify (NYSE: SPOT), WorldRemit and Zillow (NASDAQ: Z).

According to the company’s release, RELEX provides end-to-end retail planning solutions to help companies forecast demand, replenish inventory, plan space and manage their workforces. RELEX uses cloud-based software to analyze the supply chains of businesses and help them make informed decisions.  

RELEX plans for the TCV investment include improving connectivity for its customers’ retail supply chains. While most of the company’s customers are based in Europe, names familiar in the U.S. include Albertson’s, Circle K, Delhaize America, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, Imperial Tobacco, Lifeway, Party City, Saint-Gomain and W.H. Smith.

“The development of retail and supply chain planning has been held back by siloed organizations and limitations in how technologies integrate,” said RELEX chief executive officer Mikko Kärkkäinen. “Our vision is to change how the field works by driving a more responsive unified planning process.”

The investment marks RELEX’s fourth round of funding and lifts its valuation to $450 million.

TCV’s investment comes from the equity firm’s $3 billion fund, known as TCV X. It’s currently the largest fund to be raised by TCV and will be invested in consumer internet services according to TechCrunch.

“The amount we raised is about the opportunity in tech investing, it’s large and continues to grow,” TCV general partner and chief operating officer Nathan Sanders told TechCrunch.