Let’s talk Marketplace 65: How to expand your marketplace business profitably feat. Channelengine

Internationalization is the order of the day for many retailers
and brands. However, for around two and a half years now, the
focus has been on profitability rather than just growth. 
This is because many companies have already had the painful
experience of finding that although they can sell abroad, the
whole thing is anything but profitable. This is because every
market has its own characteristics: different customer
preferences and buying habits, different price levels, different
storage and logistics costs, different returns behavior, etc.
This makes the leap across the border very complex to implement,
even - or especially - via marketplaces.





Technical solutions such as marketplace middleware or the
services of a full-service marketplace integrator can help. One
such provider is ChannelEngine, sponsor partner of Marketplace
Universe. ChannelEngine can connect more than 950 marketplaces
and social media platforms via its solution and process the
business there.





In the new episode 65, Valerie talks to Dexter van
Hofwegen, Director Sales EMEA at ChannelEngine, about
the strategic considerations required for successful
internationalization, how to reduce the complexity of the various
country characteristics, which cost drivers need to be taken into
account, how to calculate worthwhile minimum selling prices and
how meaningful KPIs on seller performance, delivery times and
returns can provide support.





Note from our sponsor partner Allegro:


Marketplace Universe also stands for further education for
marketplace people. On June 5th the first webinar will
take place in cooperation with our sponsor Allegro. The
topic: “How to scale your Marketplace Business across CEE using
Allegro's platform” - in short, retailers and brands will learn
how to sell successfully in Poland and Central Eastern Europe on
the Allegro marketplace.





If this is exciting for you, make a note of this date in your
calendar:


When: Wednesday, June 5, 2024, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Where: Online

Who: Emilia Gregorczyk, Business Development Partner at
Allegro and Valerie

How: Free of charge by pre-registration. Click here to
register!









Newsflash:


The French luxury brand conglomerate LVMH will extend its
partnership with Alibaba and start using Alibaba's technology
Alibaba Cloud to help improve supply chain processes and customer
insights.

The British marketplace OnBuy is starting its
internationalization this summer with platforms in 10 new
countries, expanding to 30 countries total by the end of 2025.

TikTok Shop will start earlier in continental Europe than
expected and is now speaking about launching “this summer”. The
company has already started to invite merchants to beta-tests in
Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

The compliance specialist Avalara has canceled its
cooperation with Amazon. Previously, Avalara had handled the
advance VAT returns for sellers on the Amazon Marketplace as part
of its partnership with Amazon. Now, several sources reported
that the cooperation will end on November 1st.



More news every week in “Marketplace Universe Weekly”, the
newsletter from Marketplace Universe. Subscribe now!








Chapters


00:00 Introduction


08:44 Focus on Profitable International Expansion


13:14 Newsflash


22:19 Introduction to Channel Engine and Marketplace Integrators


26:50 International Expansion and Cost Considerations


28:39 First Steps for International Expansion


30:29 Calculating Minimum Prices and Determining Strategy


34:39 Different Business Cases and Profitability Drivers


36:31 Volume vs Profitability in International Expansion


42:34 Calculating Minimum Prices for Profitability


45:05 Visibility, Volume, and Profitability


51:43 Hybrid Selling and Collaboration


53:34 Key Considerations for Internationalization and
Profitability