Keeping Everything In-House with Hannah Lia from Hampers.com (episode 429)
Hannah Lia is the Operations Director at Hampers.com. They are sellers of hampers and carbon-neutral gifts. Founded in 1979 they now sell £14 million of gifts each year via their Magento site, corporate sales, and the Amazon marketplace.
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Getting Into the World of eCommerce
It was purely by chance that Hannah entered the world of eCommerce.
Her background is in defense and financial services, but in 2019, she and her stepdad were given the opportunity to purchase Hampers.com. Since then, she has immersed herself in the intricacies of eCommerce and is enjoying the journey.
About Hampers.com
- Based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire
- Sells to customers worldwide, but the majority of those they serve are in the UK
- Has three main channels: its website, corporate businesses (offline), and Amazon trading
Hannah shares that they’re in the business of gifting, which means that they need to please not only their customers but also those who actually consume their products.
The Hampers.com Team
The company is composed of 40 people, and they are responsible for different areas of the business.
One team handles all offline corporate transactions, and there’s also an eCommerce team that deals with online sales. They also have a marketing team that supports all three sales channels.
Keeping Things In-House
Hannah says that they do everything in-house, including warehousing and fulfillment. Keeping things in-house ensures that all processes are done according to company standards and that consumers receive high-quality products.
December is their peak season, and it’s when they hire additional people to support the huge jump in transactions during the period.
Starting their B Corp Journey
During her MBA, one of Hannah’s modules was on sustainability. This coincided with her personal belief that everyone needs to do more for the planet in order to effect change.
When they bought Hampers.com in 2019, Hannah was made operations director. It was then that she realized she had the ability to make positive changes, and it started with putting sustainability and ESG into their strategy.
To validate that what they’re doing in the company is the right thing, it became clear to Hannah that they needed to be a certified B Corp. She shares that the biggest challenge is in their supply chain because they buy products and components from all over, and there are cost implications when you want to move to products that are sustainable.
However, Hannah says that at the end of the day, making the change to become more sustainable is not really costly. More people make ethical and sustainable choices nowadays, and doing the right thing will benefit the business in the long run.
Tips for Sustainable Businesses
For anyone who wants to take the leap into becoming a certified B Corp, Hannah’s advice is don’t be afraid.
Take that first step in going through the process because you’ll find that, at its core, it’s a good framework for running a business.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- For Hannah, it’s recommendations and referrals. Specifically for their business, it’s getting their customers and end-consumers to advocate for them.
Tool Top Tip
- Airtable for sharing data between teams
Growth Top Tip
- Customer care is key for Hannah. Give your customers the best service, and that will encourage them to come back.
Interview Links
Related episodes
- How Green and BlueBeing have been a BCorp for five years (and counting!) with Faye Treffry (episode 428)
- Do you need an App? With audiobook and ebook BCorp xigxag’s Kelli Fairbrother (episode 417)
- Building a Sustainable Fashion Brand with Partnerships and PR. Gergana from blonde gone rogue (episode 354)
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