SEKO Logistics announces acquisition of Pixior LLC

Earlier this week, Itsaca, Ill.-based third-party logistics (3PL) services provider and global freight forwarder SEKO Logistics announced it has acquired Commerce, Calif.-based 3PL and fulfillment services provider Pixior LLC.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Established in 2000, Pixior has seven West Coast locations along with a Connecticut location, too, with the company providing e-commerce fulfillment and retail services, geared towards high-end fashion brand shippers.

“With the acquisition of Pixior, we crystallize our industry leadership in end-to-end logistics solutions and take a significant leap forward in our fulfillment capabilities in the US,” said James Gagne, CEO of SEKO Logistics, in a statement. “We are operating on a strong growth trajectory and looking for opportunities that allow the company to continue to move at the speed of commerce from anywhere in the world. Yassine and the Pixior team have demonstrated their clear ability to execute outstanding service, quickly develop new space and onboard clients in highly constricted markets. We believe in what they’ve accomplished and are ready to help the company and its clients grow even more.”

SEKO’s Chief Growth Officer Brian Bourke told LM there were various drivers for SEKO to acquire Pixior, with perhaps the most notable one being that SEKO projects its e-commerce business to grow to more than $1 billion by 2025, adding that the company is continuously looking for areas where it can expand its core e-commerce capabilities, especially within the U.S. market.

“Pixior had already positioned itself as a leader in high-end fashion e-commerce fulfillment and brand services with a unique focus on client value-added services,” said Bourke. “We saw this expertise, as well as their West Coast facility footprint and ability to quickly develop new space and onboard clients in such highly constricted real estate markets as a notable differentiator.”

Bourke said that this sale followed a lengthy due diligence period, where both the Pixior and SEKO Logistics teams thoroughly reviewed the impacts on the companies’ businesses, cultures and operations.

As for what bringing Pixior into the fold brings to SEKO’s customers, in terms of benefits, Bourke said that, for SEKO, the company can now offer high-touch value-added e-commerce fulfillment services that personalize the brand experience for our clients, including services like embroidery, steaming, and even instrument tuning.

“The acquisition of Pixior also greatly expands our West Coast footprint—we gain more than 1.8 million square feet of combined warehouse space primarily located in the greater Los Angeles market, along with plans for future expansions to reach 2.4 million cumulative square feet of warehouse space by Q3 2023,” he said. “SEKO will add Pixior’s drayage business, including 1,000 chassis, to increase further the speed and efficiency of our port discharge services. But, it’s truly a win-win. Pixior’s clients will also see opportunities for growth globally with our global network of freight forwarding capabilities, in-country fulfillment capabilities in key European markets, and improved last-mile delivery services.”

Bourke explained that SEKO has steadily been growing its e-commerce business and capabilities since becoming one of the first companies to enter the market in 2011.  

On the West Coast, he noted that SEKO had nearly tripled its square footage in southern California alone over the past two years prior to the acquisition, centered around Carson and Chino in the Inland Empire. 

“Los Angeles has always been a focus,” he said. “However, now we have essentially quadrupled again our facility square footage, but also our drayage capabilities to assist with the large and growing number of imports coming through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Again, we see this as a strong win-win for both our and Pixior’s teams. We have complimentary services and capabilities, and both teams have a client-first mentality. By bringing Pixior’s core e-commerce capabilities in-house to SEKO, we crystallize our leadership in truly end-to-end logistics solutions—from factory to consumer.” 

Upon completion of the sale, SEKO said that Pixior CEO Yassine Amallal will remain as CEO of the business unit that will eventually be renamed as SEKO Ecommerce Fulfillment.

“Pixior has grown substantially since the company was founded more than 20 years ago. To continue our growth, we needed a partner with the right capabilities and expertise to accelerate and expand what we’ve been able to achieve. SEKO is the right partner,” said Amallal in a statement. “We admire the company’s global reputation of being a no-nonsense, hands-on and reliable provider of first-class logistics solutions, just like us. Plus, with their global operations, there is no limit to our customers’ growth potential.”