Dropshipping vs. Traditional Retail

Every ecommerce leader I know is running on the same hamster wheel: growth targets keep rising, but the rules of the game are being rewritten under their feet. When you place a leader and later sit down with them to swap insights, you’re reminded why the right talent shapes entire industries. I had a great conversation with Julian Exposito-Bader (ex-Amazon, TAG Heuer) about what’s really shaping the future of ecommerce, and he boiled it down to four pillars every executive should have on their radar: 1. Tariffs & Supply Chain Disruption Tariffs are no longer background noise. They’ve reshaped global commerce. Chinese manufacturers are redirecting from the US into Europe, flooding marketplaces with B-brands and copycats. Leaders who win will be the ones who diversify sourcing, master customs optimization, and use bonded warehouses strategically. 2. Sustainability as a Competitive Advantage It’s no longer acceptable to send a small product in three layers of plastic. Lastmile innovation (bike couriers, drones, reusable packaging) is moving from “PR play” to “bottom-line differentiator.” Zalando is pushing hard here. Consumers are watching, and they notice who’s lagging behind. 3. AI-Powered Commerce Revolution Gen Z isn’t Googling “best running shoes”, they’re asking ChatGPT or Alexa. LLMs are the new storefront. The question is: do brands have a strategy to influence those models? Add in 10-minute delivery in Southeast Asia (coming soon to Europe) and AI-driven fraud vs. fraud detection… the entire purchase journey is being re-engineered. 4. Channel Strategy & ROI Focus Social commerce is expensive and messy, but TikTok Shop is where the next generation buys. DTC remains the highest margin, but demands world-class storytelling. Amazon gives you traffic, but only if you’re willing to pour money into ads. And let’s not forget the “lipstick effect”, beauty keeps outperforming even when wallets tighten. The takeaway? Ecommerce leaders aren’t just choosing a channel anymore, they’re orchestrating these four forces simultaneously. For me, it was also a reminder of why the right hire matters: leaders like Julian don’t just react to market shifts, they anticipate and shape them. I’m curious, in your markets, which of these four pillars is hitting hardest right now? #ecommerce #fmcg #trending

Investing in a franchise requires careful financial planning beyond the initial buildout and three months of working capital. In reality, challenges like delays in approvals or unexpected expenses can stretch your resources thin, leaving you unprepared to smoothly launch your business. A reason to have more liquidity/working capital on hand is to factor in the headwinds that come from inflation and the fluctuation of commodity prices in the market that are out of your control. What is the cost of commodities? If you're in the food business, and let's say chicken prices soar, you haven't really factored that into your profit and loss statement, so that could also leave you high and dry and needing more working capital just to keep the business afloat while you look to bring prices up. You really want to make sure that you have strong liquidity, so that you're ready for any type of scenario that comes across your business. Let's think about covid. None of us saw that coming. How long could you hang on if covid really came into the picture again? That is why we talk about cash flow and liquidity. The conversation around ideal liquidity when starting a franchise venture really needs to start with your lender partner. Leverage their expertise to help guide you in developing a business plan of a few scenarios (best case, forecasted, worst case). Developing a business plan and profit & loss (P&L) exercise to see what type of cash reserves you need to be saving for a rainy day is critical. #FranchiseConsulting #LenderPartnership #BusinessPlanning #FranchiseSuccess

Amazon opens its logistics to Walmart, Shopify and SHEIN – quietly building the backbone of global e-commerce Amazon has expanded its Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) service to support orders from Walmart, Shopify, and Shein. This marks a strategic step toward making Amazon’s logistics infrastructure available even to competing platforms. Until now, MCF supported marketplaces like Etsy, TikTok Shop, and Temu. The latest update means sellers can manage all their inventory centrally and fulfill across channels using Amazon’s network. The result: 19% fewer out-of-stock situations and 12% faster inventory turnover. From a European perspective, this signals Amazon’s ambition to become the default fulfilment layer for global commerce—regardless of where the sale happens. The update is part of a broader push: 1) Global Warehousing and Distribution will allow sellers to store goods in bulk near manufacturing hubs (China, Vietnam, India) and ship to destination markets on demand. 2) Amazon Global Logistics continues to expand with direct freight routes connecting Asia to key markets including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. For European brands and sellers, this could reshape the fulfilment landscape: - More efficient cross-border distribution - Better stock availability for marketplaces - A stronger case for channel-agnostic inventory planning Amazon (USA) leads US e-commerce with ~38% market share. Shopify (Canada) powers over 1.7 million merchants globally. Walmart (USA) is the second-largest US marketplace. Shein (China) is one of the fastest-growing fashion platforms, with significant traction in Europe. This move is less about marketplace competition—and more about building a logistics operating system for the future of commerce. #ecommerce #retailtech #logistics #supplychain #fulfillment #fmcg #marketplaces #omnichannel #digitalcommerce #inventorymanagement #warehousing #distribution #multichannel #retailstrategy #retailinnovation #shein #shopify #walmart #amazon #d2c #crossborder #globaltrade #europeanretail #europelogistics #ukretail #germany #france #italy #spain #usamarket #asiamarkets #retailinvesting #retailmedia #startups #canada #china #usa #europe #asia #northamerica

3 things I keep seeing that quietly kill businesses. Even good ones. 1. Poor stock management This is the one I see most across the businesses I advise — and it's genuinely hard to get right, especially when you're scaling. Buy too little: you run out. Buy too much: your working capital is locked up with no flex. I started my career as a demand planner. At my peak I was managing 1,200 variants of mobile phones — back when keypads came in funky colours, every antenna was different, and universal chargers didn't exist. The secret to great demand planning? Align with Sales on when opportunities land. Align with Marketing on when promos hit. Factor in seasonality. Then add gut instinct — which is really just experience, accumulated over time. It's an art. And it's one worth mastering. Or outsourcing. 2. Cash flow mismanagement The bigger you grow, the bigger the problem. A simple rule of thumb: have 2–3 months of working capital available. If you're turning over £50k, you need ~£100k of flex. That can come from stock loans, invoice discounting (essential when customers push 90-day payment terms), or a mix of funding and investment. Investors rarely want to fund working capital — which is why a sharp CFO or FD, even fractional, is worth their weight in gold. Check your cash flow monthly. Weekly if you can. Get obsessed by it. It's not the glamorous part of business — but it's the part that keeps the lights on. 3. Too many SKUs, too soon You're a small business. You're in 10 stores. And you're already sketching out your next product launch. I get it. Founders are passionate. New ideas are exciting. But every SKU costs you. Working capital. Time. Sourcing. Planning. Storage. Sales effort. Here's the perspective shift: if you're targeting convenience retail and you're in 100 stores — there are still 49,900 to go after. Before you invent something new, go deeper with what you have. Think about Red Bull. One SKU for years. They became famous for it. The rest followed — because the foundation was unshakeable. Be famous for your hero SKU first. Growth is exciting. But sustainable growth is built on discipline: in your stock, your cash, and your focus. Which of these 3 has cost you the most? Drop it in the comments 👇

Ever had a purchase that made you feel like you were stuck in a sitcom? Imagine that you’re excited about your new purchase, counting down the days until it arrives. Then … "We'll be there between 1-5 PM," they said. At 4:59 PM, my phone buzzed. Cancellation #3. Who knew an accent cabinet could become the star of its own customer experience comedy special? Spoiler alert: I wasn’t laughing. As a marketer deeply versed in customer experience, I found myself living a textbook case of "what not to do." It was like watching a sitcom where I was the unsuspecting main character. → Three scheduled appointments → Three last-minute cancellations → One very frustrated customer (yours truly) I had a front-row seat to the impact of poor post-purchase care. This comedic saga reinforced a crucial principle: ↳ The customer's journey doesn't end at checkout. ↳ If anything, that's where the real show (and relationship) begins. For those of you directing the customer experience sitcom, here are some script notes to consider: 1.     Communication is Key Keep your audience (customers) engaged. Don’t leave them hanging during commercial breaks! Implement a robust system for regular updates. Whether it’s order status, appointment confirmations, or delay notifications, keep customers in the loop. An informed customer is a happy customer. 2.     Empower your Service Team Give them the best lines and let them improvise when needed. Provide your frontline staff with the authority and tools to resolve issues on the spot. When a customer service rep can say, “Yes, I can fix that for you” instead of, “Let me check with my manager,” it’s a game changer. 3.     Anticipate Needs Be the writer who knows the plot twist before it happens. Use data and customer feedback to predict common issues or requests. Then, proactively address them. It’s like offering an umbrella before it starts raining. 4.     Follow Up Every good episode needs a “previously on …” recap. Implement post-purchase check-ins. A simple, “How’s everything working out?” can catch issues early and show customers you care beyond the sale. 5.     Learn and Adapt Use the audience reactions to refine your next season. Regularly analyze customer feedback and complaints. Use this data to make tangible improvements to your products, services, and processes. It’s continuous improvement in action. We often put so much focus on casting new customers, but what if we gave our recurring cast members (existing customers) the star treatment? It’s not just about a one-episode cameo. It’s about creating fans who’ll tune in season after season. In today's world, the customer experience isn’t just part of the show – it IS the show! Now, for some audience participation: ↳ What's your “customer experience gone wrong” sitcom story? We’ve all got at least one! CFW Marketing #CustomerExperience

DHL Supply Chain is turning a major Derby facility into a shared user ecommerce fulfilment centre, with George at Asda as the anchor customer, and the site is set to go live in 2027. £550 million is going into UK and Ireland logistics. One Derby site just became a clue about where ecommerce is heading next. Not prettier storefronts. Not louder ads. Shared infrastructure. That sounds tidy. It is not tidy. It is a quiet power move. Because a shared user hub changes the question from “who owns the warehouse?” to “who gets access to the best machine?” That second question is starting to matter more. This strategic implication is an inference based on DHL’s shared user model and its broader investment programme. Three things jump out fast: 🟡 Big brands do not always need dedicated boxes to get serious fulfilment firepower 🔵 3PLs are drifting closer to platform status, not just storage and shipping status 🟣 Peak season resilience is becoming something you rent, not something you build alone And there is a cheeky little twist here. The more ecommerce gets sold as a brand game, the more it turns into an operations game. George at Asda is expected to consolidate George .com clothing ecommerce activity into one location and operating model through this move. The facility is also being equipped with advanced automation, including AutoStore goods to person technology. That is not just a warehouse update. That is a speed, accuracy, labour, and cost structure update wearing a hi vis jacket. For marketplace sellers and operators, the read through is pretty direct. The gap is widening between brands that treat fulfilment as background noise and brands that treat it like a growth lever. One group talks about expansion. The other group makes sure the parcel actually leaves on time. Funny how often the second group wins. #Ecommerce #Logistics #Marketplaces #RetailOperations #SupplyChain

I ordered from Foxtale recently… and the product was great, yes. I also got a freebie small gift. But what really stayed with me was the packaging. At first glance, it looked like any other clean D2C box. Then I noticed a small card inside — not a random “thank you” slip — an actual little guideline + note that felt like someone thought about my unboxing experience. And then… the detail that got me: Each product box had a name on it. Like they were celebrating women through the packaging — and along with that, what was ordered was clearly written too. It was such a tiny thing, but my brain instantly went: “This isn’t a shipment. This is a message.” That’s the difference between packaging and experience. Big brands don’t always win because they spend more. They win because they add one human layer where most brands stay generic. If you’re a business owner, don’t chase “Premium.”Chase PERSONAL. Add one moment in your customer journey that feels seen — a line, a label, a card, a signature detail. Because people don’t remember boxes. They remember how you made them feel. #BrandExperience #CustomerExperience #D2CBrand #ProductMarketing #EcommerceMarketing

A few days ago, I ordered two items online. They arrived the same day, but only one item was delivered. I stayed patient. Later that day, the second delivery came. Wrong item. At that point, the dispatch rider started explaining their delivery process: How orders are split. How riders are assigned. How mistakes happen. And a simple truth hit me: The moment your customer has to understand your process, you’ve already disappointed them. Customers don’t buy processes. They buy outcomes. No one cares how complex your internal workflow is. What they care about is that what they ordered is what they receive; complete, correct, and on time. From an operations perspective, this is a service design failure. Your processes belong inside the business. Your promises belong with the customer. When you have to start explaining your processes to customers, you start losing their trust. In a country like Nigeria, where logistics is already tough, reliability is the real competitive advantage, not explanations. Strong businesses focus on: - Process resilience (designing for errors, not hoping they won’t happen) - Clear accountability (one owner for the customer outcome) - Invisible operations (things just work) The gold standard is simple: Order placed. Order delivered. As promised, or even better. No explanations. No process breakdowns. If your customers regularly know how your internal processes work, instead of simply enjoying a smooth experience, your process needs to be redesigned. What’s one internal process your customers currently see, but shouldn’t? #CustomerExperience #OperationsExcellence #ServiceDesign #ProcessImprovement #Logistics #Ecommerce #NigerianBusiness #Execution #Reliability #Leadership

Opening over 200 stores has taught me a lot about what works, and what doesn’t, in retail. Whether you’re thinking of opening your first store or starting to scale, here are ten key considerations. 1. Payback Matters: Aim for a 3 year payback on your total CAPEX and ideally 2 years. Include all opening costs from equipment, broker fees, design, legal, and other soft costs. Payback time = total CAPEX ÷ store contribution dollars. 2. Sales Per Square Foot: Your store’s viability depends on how much money you can generate per square foot. For spaces between 1,000–3,000 sqft, you need at least $500 per sqft and ideally much more. 3. Labor Thresholds: Every store has a minimum labor requirement. If sales drop below a certain level, labor costs as a percentage of sales will spike. 4. Rent Control: You want to keep gross rent as a percentage of sales ideally around 10% but not higher than 15%. 5. Store Contribution: After all product, labour, occupancy, and operating costs, your store should contribute at least 15%. The best concepts hit over 20%. 6. Volume Simplifies Management: It’s harder to manage lower volume stores than higher volume stores. When somebody calls in sick and you have 5 people on the shift it’s much easier to absorb than if you have 2. 7. High Rent Can Pay Off: The most profitable stores I had were often the ones I paid the highest rent in.  But you better be sure that your concept works before taking on big rent stores. “Don’t take your play to Broadway before it sells off-Broadway”. 8. Cluster Locations: keep your stores close by at the start. You’ll need to shuffle staff with turnover and having proximity between stores will not only be more profitable but make your life much easier. 9. Lease Flexibility: If you’re signing a 10 year lease get an out after 2 or 3 years if you are below a certain sales threshold. And for the upside try to get two 5 year tenant options after the initial term. 10. Deposit Management: Limit landlord deposits to first and last month’s rent. If they demand more, negotiate to get the cash back 24 or 36 months in (not at the end). Deposit money adds up as you grow.

They bought once. Then ghosted you. Not because your product sucks. But because you never gave them a reason to come back. Most companies: "Let's spend more on ads!" Smart companies: "Let's keep the customers we already paid for." Here's where you're bleeding customers: ❌ You go silent after they buy That package arrives. Then... nothing. No wonder they forget you exist. → Send them something useful. Not just another sale pitch. ❌ Your delivery experience is forgettable Boring brown box. No surprises. Nothing worth sharing. → Make unboxing feel special. People remember how you made them feel. ❌ You treat everyone the same "Hey YOU, check out our sale!" → At least pretend you know who I am and what I bought. ❌ You don't reward loyalty First-time buyers get all the perks! Your loyal customers? Not a thing. → Make your repeat customers feel like VIPs. ❌ You don't nudge for repurchases Customer: "Oh no, I'm out. Who did I buy this from?" → Remind them before they run out. Timing is everything. Stop throwing money at acquisition when you're leaking customers out the back door. The most profitable brands aren't just good at getting customers. They're obsessed with keeping them.