Featured Listing: Established Streetwear Brand

About the business

Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your background? How did you start the business?

We started the business in September 2019. After watching a video about dropshipping, we got inspired to start a business. We did not want to do the typical dropshipping: selling random items and constantly looking for a new winner. We saw dropshipping as a way to start a fashion brand and create a company that has brand value and will last longer than the typical dropship store. We found some great streetwear suppliers that matched the vision we had for this brand and we started with a website focusing on nice aesthetics that would make us stand out as a brand. Even though we did not design the clothing ourselves (and we definitely did not claim that), due to our social media presence and focus on brand value, our target market began to see us as the number one brand for this type of clothing. We have focused on Trustpilot reviews from the beginning to ensure our social proof.

We are two partners where background lies in entrepreneurship in university. We both always had a feeling for selling through our regular jobs and we have a passion for creating new things. Aesthetics and being precise in how we want to make things look have really been key components in creating this brand.

As an eCommerce business, where are your products made?

We have suppliers in China and we have made our own collection in Portugal

What can you tell us about your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

The CAC is approximately €27,8.

How have you marketed the product and where are your customers originating from?

We have used mainly paid advertising through Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest & Snapchat. We have increased our social media presence with the help of influencers. Our main markets are the EU (especially Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria), the UK, and the USA.

Is the asset on your listing owner-operated, how much time does it take to run the business, who else is needed on the team, and what is automated?

We have a VA (15-20 hours per week) that takes care of the customer service, social media comments and keeps an eye on order processing, and stays in contact with the supplier for dropshipping and the fulfillment center. We have now someone that is also processing the returns (3 hours per week), but it is possible to shift this task to the fulfillment center as well. A social media marketer can help with posting and managing the social media, we have had one for about 10 hours per week. Managing the rest of the store will probably take around 20-25 hours.

What does someone need to do to continue operating the business in its current form?

Stay in touch with the Customer Service VA. Managing the social media accounts (or finding a new VA for this). Managing paid advertising (or finding a new VA/Agency for this). For both tasks, we have a great suggestion to outsource it.

Growing the business

Can you list a few opportunities for a potential new owner to continue growing the business?

The store can actually be scaled up in two ways. One is to continue in a current way with the current products. We have optimized the supply chain in recent months since the new iOSS regulations, so the process is automated and can handle large volumes of orders.

Another is to shift the focus to in-house production and make unique clothing with our own designs. For this, we also have a number of producers in Portugal available for the new owner.

What has been the evolution of this asset since its launch?

We have established great social proof and loyal customers. We have been able to completely fund our own clothing line of 16 pieces. We secured our relationship with the supplier for the dropshipping items and created an automated workflow that saves costs and time. The shipping time has been significantly reduced as well.

How does this business make money? What are the current revenue streams?

Selling the items

What marketing channels are most profitable for the business?

Paid advertising on Instagram, Snapchat & TikTok. Email marketing

How does the business currently acquire customers and what is your breakdown for marketing costs?

Through paid advertising and social media presence. Around €20000 p month.

How big is your current team? How many people does it take to run this business?

2 co-owners, 3 VAs

What’s the reason for selling your business on Flippa?

We have always been told that you have to do something with passion and right now we don’t feel that anymore. We have been working on this store day in and day out since 2019 and we notice that my enthusiasm is diminishing day by day. We feel we are ready for a new challenge. While running this store, we learned a lot about Digital marketing and we see this as our new challenge to starting an Agency in this.