What was H2 Brands’ Mission for RMW Commerce?
The mission was simple — audit the company’s eCommerce infrastructure from end to end, with a particular focus on Amazon 3P marketplace, helping the company understand areas of relative weakness and strength.
Nick Pendrous, GM eCommerce at H2 Brands Group
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the GM eCommerce for H2 Brands Group. The company is a mid-market private equity owned consumer products company with a growing portfolio of nationally recognized brands. We are comprised of 22 brands with over 10,500 products representing 30+ categories – from fans to faucets to flashlights.
We have distribution footprint of over 790,000 square feet across North America and 16 countries in our global sourcing network. The company’s revenues are in the “hundreds of millions” range while eCommerce is a relatively newer enterprise, having only launched DTC sales in 2018.
Why did H2 Brands Hire RMW Commerce?
The mission was simple — audit the company’s eCommerce infrastructure from end to end, with a particular focus on marketplaces and helping the company understand areas of relative weakness and strength.
After building internally the eCommerce strategy in 2018 that had successfully grown the business from a few million in sales to "tens of millions" in three years, the question was how to continue that level of growth and ensure that the wheels stayed on. I was seeking a consulting partner to provide a health check on our staff resources, IT systems and the operational capabilities.
How Did You Select RMW Commerce & What Were The Deciding Factors?
I created an RFP. I polled industry colleagues for consulting companies that operated in this space. We went through the RFP process with several. We identified RMW Commerce as the "more steak than sizzle" partner we were looking for.
They brought to the assignment indisputable industry experts in our product categories plus, when compared to other mid-market consulting firms we evaluated, a demonstrably greater understanding of the marketplace domain in which we operate.
What Were The Key Deliverables Of The Project?
Key aspects of the deliverable we wanted answered were:
How can we maximize the valuation of our portfolio with added eCommerce revenue?
How can we scale our supply chain profitably?
How can we improve our Amazon strategy?
Where are the talent and alignment gaps in our eCommerce team that are constraining our revenue growth?
What should our technology roadmap look like to take full advantage of eCommerce?
How Many People Were Involved in the Project?
Rick took the front and center lead on the initiative. He then brought together a team of 4-5 key contributors who brought their respective expertise.
These contributors included a Supply Chain Partner with over 30 years of experience, and a DTC Partner that had built and operated the leading national home improvement online retailer. Bottom line, it was a lean and nimble group of demonstrated experts.
What General Feedback Can You Give After The Completion of The Project?
We took immediate and specific actions as a result of the assessment. As just a sample of the types of changes we actioned:
Focus - we narrowed the retail partners we focused on to concentrate resources where they could be most effective
We initiated development of more channel unique products, those that could be more effectively sold on the marketplaces without buybox suppression.
We enhanced our contribution margin reporting to dig a little deeper into specific item level selling costs, which shone a light onto some profitability gaps.
With so much change in the last 18 months, including the supply chain delays, causes and effects are hard to measure. I can generally state that our sales in 2022 (year after assessment) were ~50% higher than 2020 (year before assessment). Again, many factors influence that but clearly, we are strategically moving in the right direction!
What Makes RMW Commerce Unique?
It was really all about the people. Rick is an undisputed expert in this space. When he can bring together as part of his team the caliber of partners he did - they stood out as by far the most credible. See how RMW Commerce is able to help your business.
Final Message from Rick
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of eCommerce situations: at brands, at software companies, and as a consultant. RMW Commerce is that rare independent consulting firm that doesn’t behave like a consultant, because operating is all we’ve ever known.
If a detailed strategy is what’s required, we’ll of course do that. But if you need the best answer you can get in a week, we can do that too. Learn more about our services here.
As we kickoff 2023, I thought I would outline a few of the top questions that investors and owners ask me on a daily basis, just to give you some idea of the variety of situations where we can be helpful:
What are the top questions investors ask RMW Commerce for help with?
How do we add eCommerce to our business model in the most efficient way possible?
What recommendations would you offer to improve our Amazon or DTC business?
Can you help create a unique “Blue Ocean” category for our growing eCommerce software company?
What is the eCommerce potential of our brand?
What will fail first in our acquisition target as it grows?
Can you help us create an eCommere P&L to chart our next 3 years of growth?
Is our acquisition target capable of growing revenue by 4-5x without significant new investments?
How do we fix our technology roadmap as quickly as possible?
Why is our Amazon 1P business declining?
How Will You Grow Your eCommerce Company?
When growth is elusive, I am an expert at asking incisive questions to surface the real issues and then present straightforward ideas that your team can actually implement.
Mistakes are expensive. They cost money, of course. What’s worse is the opportunity cost. I work with investors and management teams worldwide to help them get a handle on their digital business plans to execute a clear path forward.
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