Website Closers® presents a 23 Year, SBA eligible, well-established, and thriving leader in the Chess Products Vertical. With more than 2 decades of consistent success, this company carries a loyal customer base along with strong relationships across eCommerce giants such as Amazon to stand as one of the most popular sites for chess products, sets, and training anywhere on the Internet.
This industry, which generated more than $1 Billion in revenue in 2020, is experiencing rapid growth due the rise of TV Shows and powerful chess technology. Leading this growth industry, this chess hub has grown exponentially with the rising global interest in chess, excitement which shows no signs of slowing.
But this is not a new entrant into this space – this is a company that saw the promise in Chess many years ago and has simply continued to solidify its position as a leader in the space throughout the current period. There is nothing but positive trending showing that this recent focus on Chess is here to stay. A timeless game, chess is all set to continue to grow in popularity, encouraging players to buy higher quality sets, training tools, portable boards, and more advanced software for many years to come.
This prominent brand has earned an average order value of $83.95 across its more than 2,000 SKUs to deliver reliable, enviable profits. In fact, their revenue levels have been steadily rising. With an unrivaled reputation in its niche, this business has attracted glowing reviews and a rare 99% positive lifetime Amazon seller rating. As more than 85% of their current sales occur through Amazon, this factor alone amounts to a strong competitive advantage for any incoming buyer. This success has been built through organic means alone, leaving tremendous room for growth through the development of PPC marketing, the addition of more SKUs, and an extension onto Amazon international. This company has built a valuable business framework along with an unrivaled standing on Amazon.com that could be augmented by improved use of other platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Etsy.
Here is an excellent opportunity to enter the booming eCommerce field of board games and gaming technologies. A powerful channel for hobbyist interests like chess is social media. By improving the current brand’s use of Instagram and Twitter, all while creating a strong presence on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, the new owner can engage the attention of young, lifetime customers. Exploring the highly lucrative world of wholesale, an incoming buyer could also build out consistent B2B revenue streams by marketing to big box retailers, creating industry partnerships with school districts, tournaments, and other industry events, and defining the brand for differentiation through awareness campaigns on search, as well as look-alike audiences, and more.
Serving the Internet chess community since 1998, this company is a widely recognized name in the worldwide chess market. Offering a comprehensive chess product line, this company provides ornate chess sets, durable travel sets of all sizes, tournament clocks and necessities, training videos, chess playing software, training software and more. As an innovator across the industry, this brand has become a valuable information resource for chess players, whether they are beginners or advanced. With a strategic balance of traditional products that includes books, chess sets, chess computers, pieces and boards, clocks, and supplies such as bags and scorebooks, this company maintains comprehensive industry connections along with longstanding business channels. Its modern offerings include digital products such as chess software, eBooks, videos to download, online courses, and training manuals – these cater to savvy younger audience members and create new revenue opportunities among loyal long-standing customers. The large amount of content on the company website is well optimized and organically brings in a multitude of new customers wishing to learn and improve their chess skills.
After decades in this lucrative industry, the brand no longer needs to search out new product sources as cutting-edge SKUs are consistently being offered to them from manufacturers in the U.S., China, Poland, and India. The business now has a worldwide reputation that can be effectively leveraged for international supply chain and sales opportunities. Expanding sales into platforms in promising markets such as the UK, EU, Mexico, and Canada would also help take full advantage of this globally recognized brand’s reputation.
Chess sets currently make up 60% of the company’s sales, with chess software generating an additional 30%. Leveraging a strong delivery model, their products are stocked by the company and shipped directly to Amazon for FBA delivery services. This company has relied on organic and word of mouth channels for growth and their steadily increasing numbers and glowing testimonials from repeat customers prove the efficacy of their products and outreach. They saw a sharp uptick in sales in 2020 with the rollout of 5G, the live streaming of chess events, and online chess servers.
Additionally, many new chess players, especially females, entered the market after “The Queen’s Gambit” mini-series was aired. A record 62 million households watched that program in its first month. Chess clubs also continue to be active worldwide, creating new opportunities for reliable, recurring bulk purchases. Increased chess activity in schools, libraries, and community centers has meant that parents are spending more on equipment, books, and instructions for their children, which dramatically benefits this high exposure brand.
Leveraging their highly engaged audience, an incoming owner could connect with the company’s 11,000+ email subscribers for promotions and retargeting. Currently sending out a popular weekly newsletter, while utilizing a proven SEO strategy that has consistently earned top rankings on Google and other search engines, this company has grown steadily over the years. With low maintenance social media accounts, the brand has accrued 5,000+ followers on Facebook and 1,300+ on Twitter. A more assertive push on social media is likely to pay strong financial dividends in the future, especially with the development of video content for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Besides improved use of social media, scale opportunities for this company include a stronger focus on international sales and improved stocking of inventory during the busy holiday season to ensure that none of their popular gifts sell out and miss the opportunity for a purchase conversion. There are additional expansion paths in the wholesale market that this business could maximize through targeting big box retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Costco, along with outreach to the growing number of chess clubs being formed in schools, colleges, and public libraries as this game undergoes another renaissance period.
The owner operator of this business does not have any employees, and so spends 20 hours a week handling customer service, order processing, shipping, and tracking inventory – offering the new owner plenty of flexibility to grow the business in any direction they see fit. Direct sales are made by email, with the vast bulk of purchases coming through Amazon. The current owner’s workload typically increases to 40 hours per week during the peak holiday season. A new buyer should have a working knowledge of website maintenance, how to place new products in eCommerce markets, the basics of SEO tactics and keywords.
This acquisition is a superb opportunity to secure a recognized worldwide leader in the field of chess, chess products, and chess learning. Having successfully marketed itself through eCommerce giants, this brand is well situated for new ownership.
