Aussie e-commerce firm plans $6m reverse-listing

Optus reseller and shopping platform provider Yatango is hoping to float its “revolutionary community platform” for online sales that pits resellers and retailers against each other.

The Sydney-registered business - which runs the sales platform behind Yatango Shopping, which sells phones, tablets and a variety of other products - has announced plans to list on the ASX via a reverse takeover of copper ore exploration company Latitude Consolidated Limited.

Yatango hopes to raise $6 million if the plan goes ahead, subject to due diligence and compliance requirements. The listing is expected in June.

Yatango has ambitious plans for its business model, which chief executive officer Andy Taylor likens to what Richard Branson did with the Virgin brand. The plan is to increase marketing in Australia and expand the product range into other verticals (the site also offers clothing and cosmetics) as well as a soft-launch in the UK and US.

The company's rewards and pricing platform is behind Yatango Shopping, a marketplace which includes a technology section listing tablets and notebooks, including the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and iPad Mini 3 as well as MacBooks and notebooks from Acer, ASUS, Dell, Toshiba and HP.

Yatango avoids some of the traditional risks of reselling by letting suppliers handle inventory, infrastructure and delivery.Resellers, retailers and distributors all compete against each other by submitting products and prices. Yatango then uses an algorithm to present the most appropriate offer to customers based on price and when stock is available.

“We’ve obviously still got to pay suppliers, but we don’t have to hold inventory. The last thing we want is a big warehouse and having to hold stock,” said Taylor.

“I think it’s quite unique in the Australian marketplace,” he said. “Our end goal is to link the customers with the supplier.”

The next phase will be to list suppliers and their names, helping put the onus on suppliers to ensure shipping is on time.

While Yatango and Yatango Mobile are registered Australian companies, Yatango Shopping is operated by Yatango HK in Hong Kong. Taylor said that the company was also sourcing suppliers in Australia.

Yatango was established in 2012 and later purchased the domain Mobicity.com.au, known for importing phones into Australia. Yatango Mobile supplies Optus services in Australia.