Expanding Your eCommerce Business to Europe and the UK with Andy Hooper, CEO of Global E-commerce Experts

Key Facts:

Andy Hooper’s LinkedIn
Global E-commerce Experts’ LinkedIn
Andy graduated from Harlow College in 1997
Andy has been helping organisations with business development and sponsorship consultancy since 2006
Andy loves to network, collaborate, and create long-term associations with like-minded people
Global E-commerce Experts (GEE) focuses mainly on assisting eCommerce entrepreneurs to productively enter and expand into Europe. It provides high-end services and consultancy on business expansion fundamentals such as VAT compliance, 3PL, account management, data extraction, and conversations strategy
Global E-commerce Experts has helped over 2000 sellers expand into Europe and the UK since 2017

Key Takeaways:

[00:30-1:43] During the financial crash of 2008-09, Andy realised that someone else (the economy/job market) was in control of his income and money. From that point on, Andy ventured into entrepreneurship gigs, walking dogs, wedding photography, 3D printing, and purchasing products from eBay and reselling them on Amazon (dropshipping), which eventually led his path toward eCommerce
Andy continued purchasing from eBay and reselling on Amazon for about six to seven years before realising the potential the eCommerce industry has to offer
[01:52-07:57] Andy’s main business is Global E-commerce Experts (GEE). It is a service provider that successfully expands eCommerce brands into Europe and helps them become the next big thing
Brands want to have a global reach and GEE helps them expand specifically into the EU and UK via a turn-key solution
Expanding into a new market requires brands to deal with various service providers to manage different compliances, certifications, and tools. GEE manages to put everything under one roof, and all customers need is one service provider that will help their business expand into the EU and UK without any hassle
In addition to this, GEE offers eCom stores storage and warehousing facilities in the EU and UK, where stores can ship their products from all across the globe that later can be sold to B2B or shipped directly to consumers. Furthermore, growth managers at GEE not only help the clients expand their businesses but guide them into maximizing sales and revenues
[08:00-16:24] In terms of running ads, Andy emphasizes the importance of running ads in the native language. For instance, the difference between ‘pants’ and ‘trousers’ in the US and UK can cause major problems in the type of product manufactured. The same goes for ads that are often badly translated into other languages
In the beginning, images and graphics can do most of the work to promote the product. But in order to expand and really connect with audiences, sellers must eventually invest in running listings with descriptions/translations featuring keywords that will increase the online ranking of their products
It doesn’t matter what platform you sell on, people always want to look at the SEO/ad/promotion in their native language. Manual translators are always better than tools such as Google Translate since they can really understand what sellers are trying to convey and don’t confuse the context
Another crucial aspect of product promotion is video ads; 3D shots of the product or a live shot of someone using the product. In the end, it all comes down to what the seller wants to associate themselves with and how they want to represent their brand
[27:57-30:20] Andy’s company offers clients a fourteen days expansion plan in the EU. If a brand has its own website, Andy guarantees they can help the brand expand in even lesser time
To fulfill the ‘fourteen-day claim’, Andy says they have two tricks up their sleeve;
- a) Instead of waiting for a VAT number to be able to sell your products via Amazon, they use a temporary EORI number allowing sellers to ship products straightaway
- b) They use limited fiscal representation to ship products to other locations where you can’t have a temporary EORI number

Andy’s no.1 eCom Operation’s Hack

If you’re an eCommerce business/seller that’s looking to grow and expand in the market, here’s a five-step success pathway:

Conduct market research to make sure your product will sell; work with people in the region that understand the market, conduct a feasibility study, or use software to find out whether a similar product exists in that region.
Make sure your products and business are compliant with the rules and regulations of the market you’re venturing in; get a certificate of compliance, a compliant product label, and pay some tax to the government.
Decide what marketplace is best for you, which will determine the language that you need to make it happen.
Make sure you have logistic support; you should be able to ship your products and contact the appropriate customs agent that is used to shipping eCommerce products in that area.
Promote your products to get them through the line and have the ability to top up if your listings start to tank.

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Key Resources

FBA Amazon (Fulfillment by Amazon)

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