Website Closers® presents a thriving eCommerce business offering the most extensive global wine rack range. While visually similar products are available, the company sells wine racks that are significantly superior to the competition and designed to last a lifetime. Customers have taken note, and the brand enjoys high levels of repeat business.
The company started in Australia and has grown to dominate the wine rack niche in that country. It sells through various B2B channels, including some major players. They then launched in New Zealand in 2021 and have grown continuously in the market. That same year, the brand opened in the United Kingdom and immediately saw impressive sales. So much so that they had to scale back to fulfill demand. Similar success occurred in the U.S., but orders were being shipped from Australia, and customers wanted quicker delivery. This offers enormous potential to dominate this market by setting up a 3PL in the country.
The business has operational 3PL facilities in New Zealand and the U.K. and is transitioning to a 3PL in Australia at the moment, which will remove significant rent as a cost.
In addition, the company is FSC certified. This certification is the highest form of timber sustainability available globally and took two years to acquire. They are the only wine rack provider globally with this certification. Something that many who are focused on ESG companies comes to respect.
Each product is manufactured in China using 100% FSC Certified New Zealand timber. They are then shipped directly to the Australian, New Zealand, or U.K. 3PL facilities. The supplier produces products specifically for the brand, and exclusivity agreements are signed and in place. The business has full supply chain certifications and FOB pricing. They also have a few other smaller suppliers, domestically and internationally, for accessories.
The typical customer is split evenly between men and women. Most customers are from the medium to high-income demographic. Sales are consistent throughout the year, with peaks approaching Father’s Day and Christmas.
Even as the business grows explosively, the owner works just five hours weekly. His primary tasks include:
• Stock Forecasting and Ordering
• Payroll
• Reviewing Google and Facebook Ad Performance
• Running The Instagram Account
• Answering Staff Questions
Some additional staff work for the business. These include a customer service agent, a full-time and part-time designer, whom both work as sales reps additionally, and two warehouse staff. The warehouse work is being transitioned to a 3PL, saving enormous overheads and resulting in a fully remote team.
The business is set up to be defendable. The main requirement for growth is the capital to purchase stock to satisfy the demand and the ability to set up 3PL operations in more locations. For example, sales were incredible in the U.S. when the market was tested, but the fulfillment time was 8-12 days, and feedback was that it needed to be 1-2 days. The company has not yet continued expansion there only because of the constraint of capital to purchase more stock.
With a strong working capital injection, further scale opportunities are abundant. A new owner has excellent opportunities on additional sales channels like Amazon for expansion. The company sells on Amazon Australia, which makes up only a fraction of its revenue. Therefore, it presents a huge area for growth and the possibility for a new owner to increase margins while driving new customers to the eCommerce giant.
A new owner with Amazon expertise or a willingness to outsource the Amazon storefront to an experienced agency would likely see an enormous increase in sales on the platform. Importantly, this would present a more accessible opportunity to sell globally. Once established, the business can quickly sell into additional lucrative markets, such as Canada, the U.S., South Africa, Europe and parts of Asia where demand is rife.
There is also an immense opportunity to scale the operation with mass retail. The brand hasn’t ventured into wholesale outside of Australia, but the demand is evident. An aggressive campaign targeting major retailers and possibly hiring reps could create an enormous new revenue stream. This channel allows a buyer with an established sales network to grow income exponentially.
Tapping into digital advertising beyond SEO and AdWords is an obvious next step, and affiliate marketing and added focus to secondary sales channels can be implemented. This brand’s niche lends itself to influencer marketing on social media, particularly Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok. They should look to influencers and collaborations to build more awareness and loyalty. Instagram already drives significant traffic to the Shopify website, and it’s worth considering implementing a highly focused social media campaign. In addition, paying more attention to email marketing has proven to boost sales and can be used to promote new products.
This company has such extraordinary growth potential at its fingertips. It can be scaled in several ways depending on the expertise of a new owner or the roadmap they decide on. It is a money-making machine waiting to take the world by storm.
