EXCLUSIVE: Boxed CEO Chieh Huang Talks E-Commerce, Orders, Growth On 'SPACs Attack'

Boxed is set to go public via special purpose acquisition company Seven Oaks Acquisition Corp SVOK with a pro forma implied equity value of approximately $900 million.

Related Link: Boxed To Go Public In $900M SPAC Deal

Boxed CEO Chieh Huang appeared on Benzinga's YouTube show "SPACs Attack" for an exclusive interview Wednesday.

About Boxed: Boxed is an e-commerce wholesaler and enabler, Huang told Benzinga. 

As a wholesaler, the company services businesses and consumers who want to stock up on bulk consumables, he said. Boxed is also licensing its own technology to big enterprise retailers, which Huang describes as e-commerce enablement. 

Boxed Orders: The average basket has about eight bulk items in a single order, he said, adding the ability to pack so much into a single box allows Boxed to increase its gross margins. 

Prince & Spring is the private label that Boxed operates. The label accounts for only 7% of Boxed's SKUs, but it represents 14% of the company's sales. Boxed controls the supply chain and margins of its private label, which allows it to generate higher profits from Prince & Spring products. 

See the full interview here:

Industry Growth: The online grocery industry is growing rapidly. It's now more than a $100-billion industry, and Huang said he expects it to be close to $250 billion in 2025.

The company is seeing accelerated growth in its B2B and software businesses, the Boxed CEO said. The market will be so large, it won't be a "winner-take-all game," Huang said.

He told Benzinga he expects multiple companies to be successful in the space.

Boxed plans to achieve $1 billion in revenue with at least 30% gross margins by 2026.

SPAC Deal Notes: Huang believes Boxed will be the "poster child" for the SPAC route to public markets. Boxed chose to go public using the SPAC route because of the quantum of capital available and the ability to tell the future story of the company, he told Benzinga.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Pending shareholder approval, the combined company will be named Boxed Inc and is expected to be listed in the U.S. under an undecided ticker symbol.

SVOK Price Action: Seven Oaks Acquisition Corp has traded as high as $10.96 and as low as $9.55 since its IPO in December. 

At last check Wednesday, the stock was up 0.2% at $9.88.