“Mirakl was the clear market leader for us and making that choice has paid off”
London, UK – April 20, 2017 – Mirakl, the leading global marketplace solutions provider, today announced that international online store, vidaXL, which sells products for in and around the house at competitive prices to 29 countries across Europe, Australia and the US, has selected the Mirakl B2C Marketplace Platform, supporting the growth of its category offering, streamlining operations, and accelerating expansion into new territories. The vidaXL marketplace went live earlier this year and is now open for subscription.
vidaXL’s unique offering to price conscious consumers has seen its revenues grow to €178m since its conception 10 years ago, with consistent double digit growth as high as 50 per cent. Combining branded products for the home, with its own vidaXL brand of high quality products manufactured across the world, the vidaXL website receives 3.5 million unique visitors a month. By opening a marketplace to other sellers, they have enabled online retailers to grow along with vidaXL.
“There was no doubt that we would need a marketplace one day – it was just a matter of when to make that move,” says Kijo Oudshoorn, Chief Commercial Officer at vidaXL. “It has always been in our strategic planning, and will allow us to continue supporting the rapid growth we have experienced to date. We’re working hard to develop our own brand, but also make sure customers can buy the brands they know and love, as well as accessories in our existing categories. A marketplace model allows us to do this without substantial capital investment in manufacturing, warehousing or logistics, because products are held and delivered directly by our sellers.”
vidaXL had historically taken products into its own warehouses and then shipped them out to customers. The adoption of a marketplace model allows the company to expand its international reach and brand offering with greater agility and minimal capital investment. vidaXL is also revising many of its internal processes and diverting internal resources to focus on the expansion of the product offering. The new marketplace already has 120 active sellers, with 18,000 new products live and an additional 100,000 being rapidly added.
Oudshoorn continued, “The response from suppliers and customers to the marketplace has been fantastic. We can quickly scale to new countries and bring customers the products trending in new categories such as fashion, electronics and professional tools.
“Mirakl was the clear market leader for us and making that choice has paid off. They are experts in marketplaces, but not just from a technical integration standpoint. We have had a very good collaboration with the team, who have helped us define our model, supplier on-boarding rules, and other processes to ensure the smooth running of the marketplace. We do not believe any other marketplace provider could have provided the same level of service.”
The Mirakl Marketplace Platform provides a secure online environment to host transactions between buyers and sellers of both products and services – both B2B and B2C organisations can dramatically increase their product range, expand geographically and introduce a profitable new sales channel. Organisations can use marketplaces to retain their price competitiveness, increase margins, as well as test and extend product ranges inventory and risk free. Ultimately this keeps customers excited about a brand and generates repeat business.
Eric Chemouny, Senior Vice President for EMEA at Mirakl concluded, “Marketplaces across Europe are freeing up online retailers to focus on the growth of their businesses and brands. Buying marketplace technology and completing the technical integration is only part of implementation process. Choosing a partner that understands retail, and that will work with you to understand and adapt your business, will be the true mark of success. Mirakl has proven time and time again that is has that expertise, and it has been fantastic to see vidaXL go live on the Mirakl Marketplace Platform.”
For more information about Mirakl and the Marketplace Platform, please visit www.mirakl.com.