Acumen Holdings Moves,rnRemains on Fast Track

Dozens of people gathered June 1 to celebrate the ongoing success story that is Acumen Holdings Inc., and CEO John James did not disappoint.

James, dressed in a company T-shirt and chinos, said the e-commerce firm could go public in three years.

“We’ve doubled our business in the last six months and we want to do it again and again,” James said. “We’re clearly not done.”

Indeed, business is booming at Acumen, which began with one consumer website and three brands and now operates eight sites with 239 brands.

“And you’ve heard of all of them,” James added.

The company started with four employees and 2,000 SF of space. Two years ago, the company moved into a 10,000-SF space on the top floor at Nelson’s Crossing in Fayetteville.

Now 54 employees work in 60,000 SF of space that formerly housed the Coca-Cola distribution facility, but has been vacant for more than 15 years. The employees share the space with 20 200-pound robots that help with fulfillment.

James said the robots, made by KIVA Systems, make warehouse workers 10 times more effective by bringing products to them for packing. James also said there is room to expand to as many as 1 million SF of space, given the fact the leased property sits on 20 acres.

Acumen plans to add two online stores per month for the foreseeable future. That plan for rapid growth reflects Acumen’s attitude about eventually going public.

“Our target times are always really aggressive,” COO Terry Turpin said. “We want to be in a place in three years where we have a line of sight on [going public].”