Cracking America is no mean feat for a UK tech firm – yet Pimberly is well on the way to doing just that.
The Manchester-headquartered product information management (PIM) platform recently won a King鈥檚 Award for Enterprise in International Trade and shows no signs of slowing down in its overseas push, with the US its primary market after the UK.
Pimberly, which raised 拢4m in its last round of funding in early 2024 to target expansion in the US and Europe, now employs a team of around a dozen people stateside, with almost 80 in the UK.
It featured in eighth spot in our recent RetailTech 50 ranking.
鈥淲e had a couple of clients in the US coming to us organically in the early days,鈥� says finance director Paul Cook (pictured above), who joined the firm in 2018, when it was beginning its growth story.
鈥淲e then realised that we had to go to America in earnest: it was the next obvious spot, as the UK was generating growth.鈥�
After setting up an American subsidiary in Delaware, COVID hampered the initial plans as founder Martin Balaam (pictured below) was unable to set foot in the country. However, he would go on to spend a considerable amount of time there. He is now based in New York for 75% of his time.
鈥淲e’ve now got a solid base of 30+ customers in the US, and they continue to see growth month on month,鈥� says Cook, who highlights the winning bid for Parts Town, a foodservice equipment and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning parts distributor with annual revenue of $2.5bn, as a key factor in raising its profile.
鈥淲e beat out the best part of a dozen competitors in winning that bid, including the biggest in our field,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e really put ourselves on the map.鈥�
Jigsaw puzzle
Balaam had led the private equity-backed management buyout of Nottingham-based Jigsaw24, an Apple and Adobe Systems reseller and specialist, in 2013. After four consecutive years of record revenue and EBITDA growth, he exited at more than 3x return in February 2018 and turned his attention to what would become Pimberly.
鈥淧imberly was incubated under the Jigsaw24 group and then was spun-off from when Martin exited, taking some of the senior leadership with him鈥� explains Cook. 鈥淭hey moved from a small office above a tea shop in Knutsford to the current corporate headquarters in central Manchester which was more befitting the aspirations they had for Pimberly.
鈥淲hen I joined, he was basically putting infrastructure in place to make sure that every area was covered: finance, HR, delivery then, later, operations.鈥�
Pimberly鈥檚 software helps businesses to boost eCommerce sales by bringing product specifications and digital assets such as images, video, documents and, 3D all together in one place, providing access to up-to-date accurate information.聽
It has also added AI features to its platform to improve its ability to handle complex data and create compelling SEO-optimised product experiences.
In the early days it was more like a standard Argos catalogue, says Cook. 鈥淪ince then, we’ve added six or seven recognisable modules – some connect our clients with their customers; others with their vendors; and some are AI. We have PDF sheets with product details, like you see in a shop, because many of our clients like that.鈥�
Roadmap
The platform is used by the likes of Footasylum, Monsoon, JD Sports, Cotton Traders, Dover Saddlery and Harvey Nichols.
It is vital to respond to customers鈥� needs when evolving the product roadmap, continues Cook: 鈥淲e would love to be able to sit in front of people and say: ‘This is a roadmap. This is what’s going to happen in 2025 and 2026.鈥�
鈥淪ome of what we鈥檙e proposing will happen. But as things change, other features may become more attractive to customers. So, they will find their way into the product roadmap, meaning better solutions for our customers and growing revenues for us. Our roadmap is constantly evolving in line with our customers鈥� needs and technology innovations.鈥�
Pimberly leadership team
He says Pimberly鈥檚 primary concern is keeping its customers happy. 鈥淭he secondary concern is then: who are our potential future customers, and what is it that those prospects want?
鈥淪o, it’s finding that balance to make sure you’re always satisfying your existing customers and putting things in front of them which [originate elsewhere and] might have value for them.鈥�
Growth plans & ASCEND
Pimberly is seeing growth in several industries, with construction particularly promising after Wolseley came on board. Other key targets are homewares & furniture, and food and drink: it recently welcomed LWC Drinks, the UK’s largest independent drinks wholesaler, as one of its approximately 135 clients.
鈥淲e also have a couple of Australian clients, as well as more in Saudi and others spread around Europe,鈥� says Cook.
Cook has led Pimberly鈥檚 involvement in GM 老九品茶 Growth Hub鈥檚 ASCEND Scale Up Programme, which saw him build long-lasting relationships with two dozen other Manchester tech businesses as well as delivery partner KPMG.
鈥淲e’ve used GM 老九品茶 Growth Hub before for funding, training and support on our journey,鈥� says Cook. 鈥淭he programme has helped with networking, publicity and exposure, but also leading-edge thinking from KPMG around everything to do with running a company. They cover all bases.
鈥淭he camaraderie between those on the programme is amazing: it鈥檚 like ChatGPT for founders!鈥�
Alongside continued growth in the UK and US, Cook says there will likely be a 鈥渇unding event鈥� for Pimberly late this or early next year.
Longer-term, it has been tipped for a potential IPO by some commentators in the UK broadsheets.