Case Study: StoreWALL

StoreWALL offers premium garage storage solutions to help you organise your home, garage or workshop. They sell interstate and to the US and use Interparcel to ship their products and import them from overseas.

We spoke to Arthur, founder of StoreWALL to answer some questions about the Business. With free shipping as one of their main marketing strategies, Arthur had to face shipping challenges, this is how Interparcel helped them:

Tell me about your business?

I have been running my business for almost 4 years now. We sell a premium garage storage solution to help every day Australian families clean up and maintain their garages and storage areas. This includes helping them store their bikes, tools, gardening accessories, power tools, ladders and everything else you can find in most garages.

The product is from the US and I import into Australia. I started my business from scratch without having customers and have grown it month by month.

Whilst there are a few competing solutions in this space, we offer a premium solution both in terms of quality material but also variety in our range of accessories. We also have some unique features which set our solution apart and make it worth spending a little more for.

How did you begin your business?

I started the business as a side gig after finding the product on a US website and thinking this could be a great solution for Australia. I contacted the owner in the US and he convinced me to invest $20k and bring some stock into Australia. It was a risk because at the time I had no website, no customers and no real plan.

I did however, have experience with Wordpress and could build my own site and do my own marketing. I also did some research into the product and with some distributors in other countries to understand how the product performed and what the service was like.

I still remember my first sale and the excitement of having to fulfill it. Over a few months we had a few more. Whilst still a micro business we are selling every day and at times It's a challenge to keep up with demand.

What shipping challenges were you facing with other couriers before you switched to Interparcel?

Most of our sales are interstate and so I ship all over Australia. Cities, regional towns and even remote sites, we have sold our product everywhere. Shipping is my biggest challenge. Part of my marketing strategy is to offer free shipping on orders of a certain value and it works well for me. However it means that I need to be conscious of how much I spend on shipping.

Interparcel has allowed me to access a great range of couriers, many of whom would not deal directly with me. I use the service daily to compare pricing for each order and then select the appropriate service on offer. I do this on both price and available warranty as well as previous experience with them in terms of how quickly they deliver parcels.

I have also used Interparcel to import parcels from overseas. I have found their pricing to be much better than what my overseas suppliers can offer.

What have you achieved after using Interparcel?

I have saved thousands in courier charges by being able to compare each supplier and the range of services they offer. I now have more choice and can direct certain work to certain couriers based on their pricing models. For example, some couriers are better for smaller parcels and others for larger ones. By learning more about the appropriate courier I am able to deliver a better service for my customers.

I have also found that using an intermediary like Interparcel I can receive better service than dealing directly with the courier. Interparcel provides excellent customer service that I would never go direct. This enables me to receive a better experience from the courier.

Would you recommend Interparcel to other businesses?

Absolutely, I think Interparcel is a great service and really easy to use. Whether you are a big or small player needing courier services, Interparcel is a great resource. I have recommended it to many of my suppliers that have found it hard to deliver to residential addresses using their existing provider.

What are your future goals for your business?

We have doubled our turnover over the past year and expect to it to double again this coming year. Our challenge is supply and getting enough of it to manage demand.

Warehousing is also an area we will develop this year to ensure we can store our stock in one location which gives us a permanent address to work from as well.

What advice would you give to someone just beginning their ecommerce career?

I took a leap of faith when starting this business but I did it whilst working full time. In fact, I still work full time and so along with StoreWALL I have 2 jobs. However, having and keeping a full-time job has provided me with the time to build the business slowly and to manage the growth without risking it all.

I have also been able to gradually develop the processes and systems supporting the business rather than being forced to make changes because I was running out of money or not taking a wage. I have also self-funded my business and grown it organically without external funding.

My point here is that doing this slowly is an option and you don't need to go ahead into your next business risking it all. It might take longer to grow it but it will have firmer foundations.