ROSEVILLE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#Kukui10000Shops—Kukui
Corporation, the maker of the All-in-One Success Platform®,
a market leading digital marketing solution for the automotive
aftermarket industry, announced today that it has secured $27 million in
Series A funding. The strategic growth investment from Memphis-based SSM
Partners will provide Kukui with resources to accelerate continued
platform innovation, rapid market expansion, expanded customer services,
and support accelerated growth in the automotive aftermarket industry.
As part of the strategic growth investment, Jim Tallman, Executive
Chairman of Innovative Interfaces and a former CEO with multiple
companies, will be joining Kukui as Executive Chairman to support the
management team as an advisor.
Since its launch in 2011, over 2,000 auto repair businesses worldwide
have trusted Kukui to manage their marketing, websites and customer
retention needs. And, they have relied on the Kukui platform to provide
them with deep analytics about the health and success of those programs.
Kukui’s focus is to enable shop owners to be successful both personally
and professionally, and to provide them with solutions that build trust
between motorists and their local repair shop.
“We are very excited to complete this transaction with the team at SSM
Partners. The past year Kukui has seen record-breaking growth month
after month. This investment signals the launch of our next phase of
transformational growth,” said Todd Westerlund, CEO of Kukui. “Clearly,
the experience SSM brings in helping businesses scale will be invaluable
to Kukui, but equally important is their match in both company style and
culture with Kukui.” Mr. Westerlund continued saying, “I am also very
grateful to welcome Jim to our team. His 30+ year career of management
and business development experience will help us with our strategic
plans of investing in new product innovation and pursuing market
expansion.”
“I am very pleased to be able to support this very talented management
team given the clear market leadership and innovative culture that they
have developed since the inception of the Company,” said Mr. Tallman.
“Kukui was built by listening to and solving customer needs, and that
formula has fueled remarkable customer satisfaction and growth,”
commented Hunter Witherington, Partner at SSM Partners. “We are excited
to partner with management to help support the expansion of their
market-leading platform.”
According to Greg Buckley, Owner of Buckley’s Auto Care, “This is an
incredible day for the Kukui Team! After a decade of taking a steady
approach to building the premier suite of business building tools for an
auto shop’s success, they are now ready to soar. I’m very excited about
this new chapter in Kukui’s evolution. Armed with new resources and
strategic partners, Kukui will no doubt enhance its already robust
technology and bring to market other advanced tools that have been
waiting in the wings. I very much look forward to continuing my journey
with them.”
About Kukui Corporation
Kukui enables success. The Kukui All in One Success Platform®
empowers each of Kukui’s clients with quantitative data showing their
return on investment, the number of new clients based on their POS
system, statistics revealing their customer retention rate, and areas to
improve their business through the tracking of phone calls, appointment
forms, and feedback from customer reviews. Kukui enables shop owners to
focus “on the business.” For more information visit Kukui at Kukui.com
or call (877) 695-6008.
About SSM Partners
SSM invests in rapidly growing companies within software, services, and
healthcare. The growth equity firm, which invests nationally and is
based in Memphis, Tennessee, has partnered with talented entrepreneurs
for more than 20 years. Starting with a relationship built on trust, SSM
makes minority and majority equity investments and offers its
entrepreneur-partners a thorough understanding of the growth company
lifecycle and a collaborative approach to building great businesses. For
more information, please visit www.ssmpartners.com.
Contacts
Kukui
Patrick Egan
VP Marketing,
Kukui
[email protected]
805-403-3462
