Clutter Inc. said it merged with a competitor, MakeSpace in New York, on undisclosed terms. The all-equity deal, announced Feb. 24, will provide Clutter with access to a broader geographical footprint — about 6,500 cities — and potential foray into public markets come next year.
“We are excited to have MakeSpace join the Clutter brand,” Chief Executive Ari Mir said in a statement. “Together, we will have the scale, efficiencies and necessary resources to consider a more robust set of strategic options for the company — including going public. Right now, our focus will continue to be investing in our people, serving more customers and capitalizing on opportunities to fulfill our mission.”
Clutter, which Mir co-founded with Brian Thomas, makes storing items more convenient by eliminating the trip to the local self-storage facility. Its customers pack up items into boxes, which are then picked up by Clutter employees and stored in warehouse-sized storage facilities. Items are cataloged via photo library and when customers want to access them, they can schedule a delivery through the Clutter app or website. Appointments cost $49 plus $9 per item. The storage space size ranges from a small bedroom closet to a 10 x 50-foot area that can accommodate a five-bedroom house.
The company also offers packing and packing supplies, as well as same-day local moves in most major cities in California, the Northeastern United States, Chicago and Seattle. Interstate moves are limited to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Clutter in September branched into self-storage, announcing it spent $152 million to acquire New York-based Storage Fox, which owned four self-storage properties in New York.
“If people don’t want to leave the house to pick up Chinese food, why would they want to spend their Saturday renting a truck and lugging their stuff to storage?” Mir said at the time. “At the end of the day, consumers want more time back — and that’s where Clutter comes in.”
With MakeSpace in the fold now, Clutter is poised to generate close to $200 million in annual revenue, according to news reports.
Rahul Gandhi, who co-founded MakeSpace in 2013 and will now serve as Clutter’s president, wrote on his LinkedIn profile that he knew Mir for several years.
“We’ve competed hard and learned a lot from each other,” Gandhi said. “We’ve also had a shared vision of what the future of storage will look like and, together, we’re making this a reality far quicker than anyone ever imagined.”
MakeSpace secured a $20 million Series D investment from Iron Mountain Inc. in 2019, followed by $36 million in 2020. The Boston-based records management company said it received an approximate 27% interest in Clutter in exchange for its 49.99% equity stake in MakeSpace, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It will remain an investor in the combined company and will “continue to add value to Clutter through a strategic commercial partnership and access to its global storage footprint,” according to a news release.
“From Iron Mountain’s perspective as a global leader in storage for over 70 years, we really see Clutter as the future of the on-demand storage industry, and we’re excited to use our expertise, experience and global network of facilities to help Clutter grow,” Greg McIntosh, chief commercial officer at Iron Mountain, said in a statement.
The company’s investors include Beverly Hills-based Bracket Capital and Fifth Wall Ventures Management in Venice. Clutter raised a $200 million Series D round in late March, led by SoftBank Investment Advisors, which valued the company at about $600 million.
