Curalate sets up UK beachhead in a play for the European market

Center City visual commerce company Curalate officially splashed down in London town last week.

Led by Director of EMEA Sales Frank Lombos — who comes sporting two decades of biz dev and sales experience in the U.K. — and a half-dozen staffers based out of a WeWork location in London’s West End, the company’s European push is formally taking shape. (EMEA is Europe, Middle East and Africa, meaning Curalate will be exploring sales opportunities in those continents. “Though there are some customers in both Middle East and Africa, the bulk of Curalate’s overseas clients are in Europe, scattered across countries like the England, France and Italy,” Curalate’s Luke Butler said.)

“Curalate is officially a global company!” a cheery Butler wrote in an email last Tuesday. Butler, the company’s strategy and operations manager with a government background, said a few U.S.-based sales staffers made an exploratory trip to the European city late last year. Since then, online retailers like Farfetch and Lipsy have joined the company’s client list, along with some 50 other brands from the region.

“We decided to set up an office because we’ve been seeing great traction in Europe and picking up a lot of business just through making sales trips out there,” Butler said. “Having an official presence in London leaves us much better positioned to take advantage of that opportunity and grow the number of European clients we’re working with.” (And Butler himself is a Brit.)

(Here’s a Q&A with Lombos penned by Curalate’s head of content Jared Shelly.)

Founded in 2012, Curalate’s client list of more than 800 retailers includes names like Urban Outfitters, Neiman Marcus and Sephora. The company is an official marketing partner of Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram.

One of the city’s frequently touted success stories, Curalate seems to be traveling down an interesting path with this U.K. expansion, following the lead of its fellow bigwig Monetate, who opened a London office in 2012. The sales push across the ocean means increasing its international profile and opening itself up for bigger possibilities. On the other hand, this premise entails that the platform must keep delivering on its promises of increased conversion rates all the while supporting the increased work volume.

Godspeed, Curalate.