Page 26 - TOB Magazine Jan/Feb 2013

56
TOBACCO OUTLET BUSINESS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
You source specialty items from
international suppliers anddistribute
them through dedicated online
microstores, as well as online and
offline channels. What percentage
of your business does each of these
avenues represent?
We strive to keep a balance between
all microstores so as not to excessively
rely on any given one. It’s a good
business practice because it protects us
from seasonal cycles, fads, etc. If a store
is doing worse than expected, chances
are another is doing better, thus, we
are hedged. Most of our sales are done
online via our microstores, but we also
sell on several online marketplaces
such as Amazon or eBay, and we also
sell wholesale to selected retailers. (In
fact, we have a microstore dedicated
to wholesale clients: wholesale.
multiversecommerce.com.)
How do you connect with suppliers?
Where are your suppliers based?
We have a buyer in Italy. All our
suppliers are Italian companies or
artisans. As we grow, we will most
likely source products from other
countries.
How many microstores do you
operate? How do you go about
deciding what to offer?
Multiverse will turn four years old
in February 2013. In four years, we
have launched nine stores, as the first
year was spent mostly with setting up
the permits and import process for
ItalianSmokes. Going forward, we
would like to keep up the same pace
and to launch three to four new stores
every year.
We select categories based on a
strict set of criteria. Without going
into too much detail, we like to carry
products that are premium and cater to
a specific, well-defined market niche;
we are not interested in mass-market
products. Also, we prefer products that
are small, have a relatively long shelf
life, and are easy to ship. Currently all
our products are from Italy, but that
may change in the future.
How do you promote your sites?
We promote our stores and products
using all the standard online marketing
tools, as well as several advanced ones.
In fact, we like to think that we are
very competent when it comes to
online marketing, and we certainly
work the hardest to constantly improve
our promotional efforts and build our
brands. We also try to be present on
selected printed publications.
Do microstores have a lifespan? That
is, do they go on indefinitely or do
they tend to launch in response to a
trend and be disbanded when that
trend ebbs?
We try to stay away from fads and
categories which are entirely based
on short-lived trends. That said,
microstores do have a life cycle: a new
store either eventually grows to the
point that it can be spun-off and sold,