Kavita Verryth@kavitaverryth

A Publisher’s Guide to European Expansion

Catharina Zientz@catharinazientz

OverviewAn international education

1. Background2. Fashionchicks International Strategy3. International in 3 Steps

TechMarket ResearchSet-Up

4. Country AnalysisNL – DE – FR – UK – AU/AT/BE

5.Learnings

Find your look

Fashionchick ensures that every woman can easily navigate the online shopping world.

Whoever she is. Whatever her style. Wherever she is.

What we do

Company TimelineFrom No Search to Sanoma

2009 2011 2012

Sanoma InterestCooperation begins with analysis of companies to ensure there is a strategic match

No SearchFashionchick.nl turns profit and proves the platform is a success

Sanoma 25%Sanoma buy 25% share in No Search showing positivity about the concept.

Sanoma 55%1st January: Future prospective growth increased. Majority ownership enables int. expansion

2013 Q3 2013

Sanoma 100%Earlier then expected, Sanoma buys No Search for ease of investment and result reporting.

Q3 2014

Final IntegrationFashionchick moves headquarters to Sanoma BV in Hoofddorp

“80% of Fashionchick-women are shopping here with an intention to

buy”

Business ModelHow we earn

Performance Marketing

• Product data feeds• Interesting content• Categorisation & filtering• Conversion driven focus• Popularity rankings• Sending 80% of all traffic to

conversion focused pages

Our International Progress

Our MarketsOur current international presence

Growth StrategyVertical & Horizontal Expansion

Fashion: Women

Fashion: Men

Fashion: Kids

Home Decoration

Netherlands Germany France UK US

International TimelineFashionchick goes abroad

20092006 2011 2012

No Search B.V.Fashion related comparison company created

Expansion #1Fashionchick expands to France and Germany

FocusFashionchick.nl live and becomes the companies focus and main offering

Expansion #2Fashionchick expands to the UK and USA

Expansion #3Cross platform expansion. Mentoday NL & DE

2013 2014

Expansion #4Cross platform expansion. Kidstoday.nl

International in 3 Steps1.Technical Concept

2.Market Research

3.Set-up Phase

Technical ConceptInnovative Platform

• Front-end translation• Internationally recognised design

(one-for-all concept)• Easily adapted to new market

segments• Speedy performance• SEO friendly• Responsive v Mobile• Corporate Identity

“Don’t duplicate a second-rate product!”

Market ResearchOrientation Phase

• Population Size (target group)• Internet Usage• Average Income• National economic growth• Unemployment• Spending patterns• Top 3 online shops• Online sociability• Mobile behaviour (2014)

Ecommerce ReadinessMarket Research

  NL DE FR UK AT BE PL ES IT TCTotal Population 16,9 81,0 66,3 63,7 8,2 10,4 38,3 47,7 61,1 81,6Women 15-64 5,5 26,0 20,8 20,5 2,3 3,4 13,6 15,8 20,4 27,4Internet Usage 81,1% 80,2% 68,2% 80,7% 74,4% 77,9% 58,7% 58,9% 48,4% 33,3%Total Target 4,5 20,9 14,2 16,5 1,7 2,6 8,0 9,3 9,9 9,1Ranking 3 10 8 9 1 2 4 6 7 5GDP / capita $41.400 $39.500 $35.700 $37.300 $42.600 $37.800 $21.100 $30.100 $29.600 $15.300Ranking 9 8 5 6 10 7 2 4 3 1Growth 2010 -1,3% 0,5% 0,3% 1,8% 0,4% 0,1% 1,3% -1,3% -1,8% 3,8%Ranking 3 7 5 9 6 4 8 3 1 10Unemployment 6,8% 5,3% 10,2% 7,2% 4,9% 8,8% 10,3% 26,3% 12,4% 9,3%Ranking 8 9 4 7 10 6 3 1 2 5% Fashion of all purchases 6,8% 5,2% 5,3% 5,4% 5,7% 4,0% 5,4% 8,5% 7,0% 6,2%Ranking 8 3 2 5 6 1 5 10 9 7Smartphone Usage 52,0% 39,8% 42,2% 62,2% 48,0% 33,5% 35,0% 55,4% 41,3% 29,6%Ranking 8 4 6 10 7 2 3 9 5 1                     OVERALL RANKING 6,50 6,83 5,00 7,67 6,67 3,67 4,17 5,50 4,50 4,83

Market ResearchThe Decision Makers

• External factors• Online shop analysis• Competitive analysis• Cross-market potential• Branding• Marketing strategy (traffic)• Set Year #1 goals

Set-Up Phase2 months to launch!

• 1 FTE Native: Project Owner (personally invested in the project)

• Location: major city preferable• Research and abide local laws• Minimum content requirements• Focus on business relationships• Cultural differences in your

organisation

Country AnalysisGermany

FranceThe Netherlands

UKAustria/Belgium/Australia

Germany"trust and communication is key"

• Largest EU economy • Strong e-commerce market

• Slightly more male skewed• Wealthy, tech savvy population• Stricter laws and regulations

• Impressum• Preisangabenverordnung

• Very mature e-commerce market, many players• CPA and CPC as attribution

models

Germanycultural nuances

• Major International Players/Competitors =• Highly competitive expensive

traffic higher start-up cost.• Risk & reward higher ROI more

potential• Highest shopping basket value• Privacy and trust

• Lower Facebook growth• Shop certifications are relevant to

the consumer (e.g. Trusted Shop)• Post-pay

• Be wary about high return rates for fashion

France"personal contact drives the sales"

• Internet Access: 82% of households• Paris is the ecommerce and fashion

hub. Paris HQ strongly advised. • Ecommerce website growth

(+17%)• Mobile ready market• Tracking influenced by a large

retargeting and email marketing market

• Region specific purchases and marketing (local knowledge)

• Made in France mentality• International players should look at

investing in local presence

France

• Network support and data sharing is limited

• Controlled sales period for all sectors

= high demand for advertising• Favorite payment method: credit

card• Main criteria for decision making

(ranked from the most important): price, trust in website, delivery options, and product diversity

• Local players dominate• Kiala delivery popular (free) over

home delivery (paid)

cultural nuances

The Netherlands“the home-market advantage”

• Manageable market Population and geographic.

• Highly active start-up city & international > 50% expats in Amsterdam.

• Advanced performance marketing market – in terms of retailers and publisher knowledge, local networks, local events.

• Good to know legal: cookie guideline strict

The Netherlands

• iDeal payment option is a must• Free shipment & voucher codes• The Sanoma Advantage• International hot-bed for fashion

stores esp. from UK and DE• High product feed qualities (due to

knowlege)• Early adopters• Local orientated sites perform well

(bol.com, wehkamps, marktplaats)

cultural nuances

The UK“sales? voucher codes? of course!”

• Worlds leading e-commerce market• Highest mobile conversions• High risk = high reward• Discount code and cash back sites

to compete with• International competition from

USA; less so from EU• High interest in spot positions and

focus on branding• Agency driven landscape; more

influence

The UK

• Improvement in data feeds (catching up to ie: NL & DE)

• Large local players with intentions to expand to EU

• Conversion is lower in start-up phase

• Traffic buying is relatively inexpensive (until the Christmas rush)

• Quick turn-overs. Highly trend driven with continuous discounting means product moves fast

• 25% Click & Collect

cultural nuances

AT/BE/AUWhere to next?Step 1 & 2: CompleteAustralia, Austria, Belgium (fl)- How we are doing it differently from

what we learned.- Shared resources - Low content/Low profile/Low Risk - Alternate tags (html) - Traffic Sources

Step 3: Set Up July/August 2014

Looking ahead: Pending success = expansion of teams, local base/contact within 6 months etc

Don’t ForgetInternational Nuances…

• Local presence• Network partnerships are key!

• Sale seasonality• Local social media players• Share your data!• Don’t duplicate content• Continually test and evaluate over

6-12 months

catharina@sanoma.comkavita@fashionchick.co.uk