Retail Peachylean boss says fundraising environment is ‘really treacherous’Sharon Keegan says Irish athleisure firm raised €500,000, but it had hoped to raise twice that amount
Interview Laying the foundations: How Sculpted by Aimee became a multimillion-euro cosmetics businessAimee Connolly founded Sculpted by Aimee straight after finishing college, initially selling two make-up products. The business has just opened a shop in Dublin’s Grafton Street as well as selling more than 180 products in 350 stores around Ireland and next month will launch in Boots stores across Britain
Fashion Aran Woollen Mills to launch consumer website and add 50 jobs in expansion planMayo-based family company is due to be have a second manufacturing facility up and running in the area later this year
Connected No longer coining it: The rise and rise of tech paymentsFrom device-based payments and app-happy neobank users to controversial plans to limit bank cash services, there can be no doubt that payments have been revolutionised by tech – but is Ireland now a leader or a laggard when it comes to digital money?
Retail Lego confident of building on success with new Dublin storeThe Danish toy company’s new outlet on Grafton Street opened last week, and one of its senior executives describes the store as being in a ‘perfect location’
Companies Half-year losses more than double for Deliveroo as food delivery orders slowThe British food delivery firm has slashed its growth outlook for 2022 as consumers rein in spending due to soaring inflation and rising energy bills
Analytics start-up coming out of ‘stealth mode’ to raise €70m and double staff Dublin-based firm Conjura plans to use Series B finding to scale and expand into the US and Europe
Clearco aims to invest €100m in Irish e-commerce and digital-first businessesThe Canadian company provides investment funding to start-up companies but does not take equity in the businesses
Lightness of touch: the rise of contactless commerceOne of the most significant changes in behaviour brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic has been the rise of contactless payments. As things return to normal, this shift in consumer behaviour will remain with us, writes Jason Walsh
Company watch: Smurfit Kappa boxes clever with swift action to counter inflation Pandemic lockdowns and e-commerce have seen a global run on sustainable packaging, so much so that the paper and packaging firm is ‘effectively sold out’ – which hasn’t hurt its bottom line
This Working Life: Beware of the cultural gaps when entering new online marketsSetting up a website in a new country involves a lot more than just using a new language, there are subtle cultural and economic differences to take into account too
Content Llama aims to raise €15 million in next funding roundDonegal-based software business has 42 staff across Ireland, the Netherlands, Ukraine and South Africa, with 20 new roles to follow
Irish firms treble Google product listingsOnline B2B service Pointy has added another 600 retailers this year, listing over five million items on the global marketplace
E-commerce needs an experience makeoverEva Short reports on research from Stripe and Flipdish that found that Irish e-commerce sites still need a lot of work, despite the digital wave that came with the pandemic
Making it Work: Family business puts an Irish spin on eco-friendly traditional toysThe Hobby Shop, an online and in-person shop founded during the pandemic, is a step into the future for a Sligo family business with decades of experience as traders
Making it Work: Pandemic pivot fires growth at online payments firm SplinkRevenues at the Dublin tech company have increased tenfold since it moved to a white-label model and started selling its software to banks and financial institutions
An Post reports 60% drop in earnings State postal service says higher staff and operational costs due to the pandemic are behind the fall, which resulted in a bottom-line pre-tax loss of €31.7 million for 2020
Making It Work: Sideline beauty shopping venture evolves into seven sister retail sitesIn just over a decade, Daryl Divilly has built a thriving online business spanning numerous health, beauty and babycare categories with annual revenues now topping €5 million
Bord Bia to woo Irish food producers online The semi-state body is in talks with digital giants like Amazon to ease the transition to a swiftly growing marketplace
Automatic for the people: how to get the best from CRM As automation in customer service grows in popularity, it’s time to ask what customer relationship management can do for you
