Seller Case Studies : NECOICHI
From cross-border EC to local corporation.
The entry into the United States was through Amazon Global Selling.
“The best for cats”
Mr. Takeuchi has been working as an Asian agent for pet product brands in the United States, but he founded a company with his older brother Jun Takeuchi with the desire to launch their own brand by taking advantage of agency know-how that had been accumulated over 5 years . “I thought I could make better products for pets and owners through my work at the agency. ”It is said that the desire to make good things with the motto “best for cats” from product development has led to the establishment of the current company.
Necoichi has been selling their products on Amazon.co.jp since 2013, but they do not sell B2C products directly on their own website, and it was a suggestion from a wholesaler that led them to start EC sales. It seems that most of the business was a physical store at the beginning, but now more than 60% of sales are by EC, Amazon accounts for more than half of the sales.
Necoichi has been selling their products on Amazon.co.jp since 2013, but they do not sell B2C products directly on their own website, and it was a suggestion from a wholesaler that led them to start EC sales. It seems that most of the business was a physical store at the beginning, but now more than 60% of sales are by EC, Amazon accounts for more than half of the sales.
“I was able to have a local corporation in the United States.”
The company started selling on Amazon.com (USA) in February 2014. Sales were very good at US Amazon, and in November the company established a local subsidiary and realized the establishment of a physical store and participation in exhibitions.
Currently, the company sell mainly in North America, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Sales through Amazon Global Selling have now increased to 20% of our company’s total sales.
“It's thanks to FBA that we can easily sell from Japan even if we are not on site. To be honest, I was surprised at how easy it was to sell in the US. Usually, when you enter sales abroad, you need to establish a local corporation, rent a warehouse, prepare English language customer service, make a contract with a local delivery company... such a high cost of investment and hassle. It will usually take a few years to develop your customers in the country. Using Amazon Global Selling and FBA, we have been able to do it in just a few months. I feel that selling overseas using FBA is like setting up your own vending machine in a prime location abroad. ”
FBA is available in US Amazon just like in Japan, so just by sending inventory to a warehouse, shipping, delivery, customer service and returns are all handled by Amazon. FBA products also appear as Prime products on Amazon.com and can be shipped within 2 days in the United States. You can put your products on Prime overseas and keep your sales conversion rate.
Currently, the company sell mainly in North America, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Sales through Amazon Global Selling have now increased to 20% of our company’s total sales.
“It's thanks to FBA that we can easily sell from Japan even if we are not on site. To be honest, I was surprised at how easy it was to sell in the US. Usually, when you enter sales abroad, you need to establish a local corporation, rent a warehouse, prepare English language customer service, make a contract with a local delivery company... such a high cost of investment and hassle. It will usually take a few years to develop your customers in the country. Using Amazon Global Selling and FBA, we have been able to do it in just a few months. I feel that selling overseas using FBA is like setting up your own vending machine in a prime location abroad. ”
FBA is available in US Amazon just like in Japan, so just by sending inventory to a warehouse, shipping, delivery, customer service and returns are all handled by Amazon. FBA products also appear as Prime products on Amazon.com and can be shipped within 2 days in the United States. You can put your products on Prime overseas and keep your sales conversion rate.
Did you have any knowledge of overseas sales?
“At the beginning, we had zero knowledge of exports and cross-border EC. I remember I bought two books and started fumbling around from there. Amazon has standardized creation of Seller accounts and product pages across countries, so it is very easy. In addition to that, the Japanese support team is also substantial, and it is very helpful because all US selling accounts which we operate daily are also available in Japanese. Back then, I was handling all the items for overseas sales, shipping and packing by myself, but now we employ 8 employees and resources have increased. ”
When selling products overseas, there are several things that require additional action, such as export and return procedures, international remittances, translation into local languages, legal and appropriate tax processing. We offer several external companies (service providers) who can professionally support complex procedures and respond on your behalf.
By using a service provider capable of supporting Japanese language, which has passed high screening standards of screening, you can reduce the time and cost of export research.
By using a service provider capable of supporting Japanese language, which has passed high screening standards of screening, you can reduce the time and cost of export research.
Are you committed to making products in Japan?
necoichi wants to further expand its overseas sales through its appeal of offering products that are made in Japan.
“I can rest assured that trading with factories in Japan ensures consistent quality. In the future, we would like to move all of our product lineup to be made in Japan as much as possible. We want to sell high quality items even if the price is slightly higher. When the sales increase, companies that sell similar products will also begin to appear, so we would like to fully market the product as made in Japan to differentiate it from other products. ”
“I can rest assured that trading with factories in Japan ensures consistent quality. In the future, we would like to move all of our product lineup to be made in Japan as much as possible. We want to sell high quality items even if the price is slightly higher. When the sales increase, companies that sell similar products will also begin to appear, so we would like to fully market the product as made in Japan to differentiate it from other products. ”
necoichi is developing products mainly by listening to the voices of pet owners who are customers. They carefully conduct questionnaires from the pre-production stage of the products, and make sure to ask about the expectations of the products in detail, from design to packaging. They analyze Amazon reviews and top ranking products in each marketplace, and can now say that their product development is centered on Amazon.
Are there any episodes in which you were particularly happy with overseas sales?
“When we first started Amazon Global Selling, we didn't know if our products would sell, so we packed three products in a box of about five each and sent them to FBA. When I saw everything sold out in 2 days, I was glad to realize that the products I had made in Japan were accepted in the United States for the first time. Now we have listings in Mexico and Canada, but with FBA Remote Shipping, we can easily expand our sales channels because they ship from our US warehouses all across North America. ”
Do you have any advice for other Sellers?
“One thing is that the barriers of overseas sales are not high. Amazon has a wealth of support so you can start without a big investment. Secondly, in overseas marketplaces, there are many cases where things that you thought would sell well do not sell well, or conversely, things that do not sell well in Japan sell well. I think it is important to try various products without having preconceptions. ”
Location
Japan
Active marketplaces:
Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico
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