Selling 4,000 Orders a Month as a Force For Good with Laura Davies, Founder of The Kid Collective (episode 433)
Laura Davies is the Founder of The Kid Collective, a UK-based toy and sustainable parenting online store built on BluePark. Founded in 2008 they now process 2 to 4,000 orders a month.
Listen now for free:
Subscribe on your Favourite Podcast App
About Laura
Laura shares she got into eCommerce at the time she had a child and started using reusable nappies, which she loved. She adds that she has always made an effort to make sustainable choices and wanted to try selling them.
She set up an online store in 2008 and today, The Nappy Gurus is still in operation. The Kid Collective, which is an expansion to include sustainable toys, was set up four years ago.
Changing Your Business Model When It’s REALLY Worth It
For both The Nappy Gurus and The Kid Collective, the business model is reselling other people’s products. And while they’ve looked into manufacturing their own products, Laura says they’re ultimately a reseller, and they value the relationships they’ve developed with their partner brands.
It has its challenges, Laura admits, but they’re happy with what they’re working with at the moment.
Creating a More Sustainable Supply Chain
Laura mentions they’re selective with the toys they stock, making sure they look at credentials in terms of sustainability and manufacturing, as well as the value these toys give to the child.
They work closely with their suppliers to ensure that the products they resell are as sustainable as possible and even request non-plastic packaging as part of their commitment to sustainability.
How to Beat the Competition
When asked how they maintain their position in the challenging industry of selling kids’ toys, Laura shares they really look at what aspects are important.
Aside from having a really clear message, they make sure to keep their community engaged and work hard to retain their existing customers.
Laura is also proud of their customer service. They go above and beyond what is expected, and this is reflected in the reviews they get.
Keeping Fulfillment In-House
For Laura, there are clear benefits to managing their own logistics.
First, they’re able to add personal handwritten notes to every order. Second, they can handle customer issues right away. Third, they can gather their own social media content.
So while it does get challenging at times, especially during peak periods, the advantages of keeping their fulfillment in-house are too good to let go of.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Laura says what has really helped them with their SEO and improving organic traffic is digital PR. This has also helped in reducing their acquisition costs so it’s what Laura recommends.
Tool Top Tip
Growth Top Tip
- Put some money behind paid advertising but don’t forget to have a customer retention plan as well.
Interview Links
Related episodes
- Farm Toys Online’s Julia Lowe the team, product, and focus requried to turnover £500,000 a year, mainly at Christmas (episode 075-5)
- How to hit 7-figures selling products available everywhere with Bec Slack from CleverStuff (episode 353)
- Taking a sustainable, money saving brand to £5m a year with Helen Rankin from Cheeky Wipes (episode 388)
Without the sponsors the podcast wouldn’t be possible – please do check them out:
Have you accessed our FREE Excess Stock Training yet?
We’re solving your overstock problem!
- Do you have stock in your warehouse you desperately need to turn back into cash?
- Do you want to know how you can sell more stock at full price?
- Do you want to leverage your stock to improve your profits, cashflow, and environmental impact?
Then it’s time to get your FREE ticket to our brand new training resource
You’re going to learn how to tackle the problem of overstocks – BOTH how to avoid them, and how to clear them.
Sign up now to get your FREE access to all the replays
Discover AppSumo
We’re massive AppSumo fans at eCommerce MasterPlan – Chloe and the team will have used at least 10 tools we’ve bought from their lifetime deals marketplace to create and promote this episode.
Checkout AppSumo today to find a low cost solution to your business problems.
Full transcript to read & download:
Like to be a guest? Apply Here