If we compute, the combined revenues of Amazon, Target, and Walmart could represent a country’s GDP. The three big corporations continue to report a staggering increase in their revenues every year. This represents opportunities for sellers to utilize the potential of these marketplaces. But it isn’t that easy. As much as the millions of dollars in revenue potential these marketplaces represent, a third-party seller still needs to know the right strategy to make it work.
We take the example of Ivan Ong, the Founder of KeaBabies, specializing in baby care and maternity products, who managed to generate over $20 million in sales in 2020. Their products are also highly sought-after items on Kroger and Macy’s.
KeaBabies was founded in 2017 by husband and wife Ivan Ong and Jane Neo. They utilize Shopify and the wholesale platform of Faire and ads on Google, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to generate sales from their website. Ong pioneered the company’s strategy of making sure KeaBabies’ products are accessible to consumers anywhere in the world.
2020 also brought the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide lockdowns, social distancing protocols, and a ban on public gatherings took a toll on businesses worldwide. Bankruptcies surged, yet the market presented opportunities in the landscape of eCommerce. And Ong agrees; talking to Business Insider, he shared that the pandemic accelerated sales aggressively, and he is looking at revenues reaching all-time highs with $30-35 million in annual sales.
Amazon is KeaBabies’ most considerable revenue stream where they started selling products back in 2017. It can provide an entire catalog of services using Fulfillment by Amazon, which oversees warehousing and deliveries.
Last year, Amazon reported $386 billion from third-party sellers on its platform, whereas in 2021, the company is pulling in over 3,700 new sellers on its marketplace every day.
It could have been a nearly perfect story of KeaBabies with Amazon, but it isn’t since the company also considers Walmart one of its significant markets. KeaBabies’ Walmart business is 5% of their total Amazon sales. But Walmart is still important to them because there are fewer competitors, and they get to avoid the out-of-control black hatting disaster.
On the other hand, Ong mentions that his company enjoys an exclusivity status with Target because the retail giant is quite selective about its partners. This factor eliminates competition and offers a complete stretch for the company to grow. The company had to toil and throw in a heap of efforts to secure an opportunity with Target, pitching about why they should be on its stores.
As KeaBabies pushed its baby care product line and saw an imminent sales increase during 2020, they landed an opportunity with Kroger after being contacted by them. Ong suggests that partnering with Kroger was a relatively straightforward affair as the website is looking to partner with more and more diverse brands.
KeaBabies’ customers are keen parents who want the right product at the right place and at the right time. Being accessible to their most trusted and visited marketplaces is a complete win.
