Website Closers® presents an eCommerce Brand that has successfully carved out a unique position in the field of home décor by offering high-quality cast-iron products from yesteryear with detailed craftsmanship that aren’t offered anywhere else. The mix of proprietary products, quality and nostalgia for items that reflect a bygone era has resulted in an excellent company that is ready for the next level of scale.
This brand has been in operation for more than 3 decades. Product ideology comes from in-house designers producing specialty products made from cast iron that include bathroom accessory sets, bookends, doorsteps, and candle holders among many others. At a time when customers are looking for unique decor, this company has found itself with a highly appreciative market for their current product line.
Home décor items are carefully chosen by consumers because of the way their home comes to reflect who they are, what their interests are, and what those items say about their personality and lifestyle. No surprise that the global home décor market soared to $682 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow to a stunning $898.3 billion by 2027.
The world of eCommerce is accommodating this growth significantly, making it easier than ever for buyers to discover specialized items that are a perfect fit in their homes, and to enjoy fast deliveries.The online home décor market is projected to grow by $52.9 billion from 2020 to 2025, a 9% growth rate that demonstrates how many people are eagerly looking for home décor items online.
This company is performing particularly well in that regard, having five different sales channels offering customers a diverse product mix, and that includes Amazon, where they have a sky-high 97% positive Lifetime Seller Rating and have received numerous Amazon Choice Badges.
How did the brand manage these enviable accomplishments? Let’s start with a review of the company’s history to better illustrate that.
First launched in 1987, the company has become well known for selling its unique blend of cast iron home décor, including plenty of pieces that they fabricated and invented on their own. They also make hand tools for bending rebar by hand for the concrete trade.
At an Average Order Value of $48, and with thousands of products to sell, the company has the benefit of enjoying steady sales through the year, with certain products peaking in the spring and summer, such as their water hose guide, or around Christmas, including their bookends and candle holders. Numerous products, including their outdoor ashtrays and horseshoes, sell well all year long.
The company has generated the bulk of their sales on Amazon, about 70% of the total. They also have a rising percentage of sales on other sites, including their own website, Etsy, eBay, and Walmart.
They benefit from very limited competition. When they first launched, the company was concerned that competition could potentially limit their growth, so they designed products that no one else had.They also built products that are hard to make, discouraging competitors from trying to duplicate their most successful products.
The company made another key strategic decision: to create products in multiple niche markets, giving them unique SKUs in a wide variety of popular and in-demand verticals. This remains one of the company’s best scale opportunities, to continue making new products in untapped niche markets.
Another clear opportunity for scaling would be to target sales outside on the U.S., where they now exclusively operate. Amazon would be the ideal platform for taking their sales to Canada, the European Union, Australia, Mexico and other countries. This is a significant scale opportunity for a buyer.
Because so many of their products are considered rare items, the company’s marketing focus has been on the fact that they sell products that others do not. PPC ads on Google are run year-round, while they also have an email database with 6,500 subscribers that can be used for upsells and cross-sells as new products come online. They also maintain a content strategy of writing great descriptions for each product and ensuring their photos match.
This is helping to generate more organic traffic since they now get 3,400+ unique visitors to their website each month.
There are two employees who assist with daily packing and keeping track of inventory. They are now shipping an average of 150 packages a day from their warehouse, and stock up to $388,000+ in inventory to keep up with those orders.
With so many niche markets that they sell within, from crafting to home décor to hand tools, bathroom accessories and outdoor accessories, there is no single typical customer for this brand. Their products appeal to a wide range of buyers, and as they keep introducing new products, they continue getting introduced to new customers.
