IntegraMedia: Two Successful Ecommerce Stores, One Shared Logistics
Estimated reading time:9 Min
Héctor Rubio Fidalgo is no stranger to entrepreneurship or success. This should be more than enough credential to introduce yourself, but we can also add that Héctor is the CEO and founder ofIntegraMedia Group, the group that consolidates the two successfulecommerce EroticFeel.com y WebCartucho.com.
Both brands with international reach and with particularities and complexities that separate them by far from anyecommerceessential. Neither of these twoecommerceIt is what we would call “easy” to operate. And even less its logistics.
However, curiously, both brands are extremely successful and share the same logistics. This is his story, a lesson in efficiency, a good head and a lot, a lot, entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneur ink
Frank:Héctor We are going to start by explaining your story a little, because on top of that, people may not understand what a website for erotic products has to do with another for printer cartridges. How and when is it bornIntegraMedia?
Héctor: Integramediawas born in 2006 in the room of my parents' house. I founded it. And notice that he is not born thinking about either WebCartucho or EroticFeel. In fact, it was born for a video game that I had created after finishing my computer science studies, it was a browser game calledMedievolwhich had more than 100,000 players in different parts of the world. But well, in the end, I couldn't continue with it, because I only had the support of my brother, and we couldn't keep up with the pace required by the jump to mobile devices. So the game died in 2012.
Frank: And how do you go from an online game to aecommerce?
Héctor:I always had the thorn in my side to sell something online, something physical, and then we decided to sell online using the eBay portal. At that time in España e-Bay was the most thriving marketplace. And we started selling computer items, ink cartridges, etc. I'm talking to you about the year 2012. At that time we were already with two people, we already had a small office and we were not at my parents' house - laughs Héctor - We were in the old town of the city of León in España and the truth is that for aecommerce…It wasn't the ideal place either.
Frank: They then started with a marketplace. When and why did you take the leap to create your ownecommerce?
Héctor:The year after starting on e-Bay we decided to launch our ownecommerce, WebCartucho.com, a website for the sale of ink cartridges online. We did it because we already saw that theecommerceIt worked very well and we decided to launch our own.
It was based on Prestashop and I assembled it. And nothing, before the end of that year we already had to move to a 100 square meter premises due to the growth we had. We had a small office with a warehouse, all together, we were then about four or five people.
Frank: What date exactly was this?
Héctor:WebCartucho was born in June 2013 and from that moment on we sold simultaneously on e-Bay and Webcartucho.com
Frank: And was that difficult for you? Many brands get tangled when they try to do this double strategy, due to the normal limitations of marketplaces.
Héctor:Yes. That is why in the marketplaces we have made the decision not to sell directly with the Webcartucho brand, but rather we sell the products that we can market on Webcartucho, but with an independent brand to be able to have more freedom in terms of prices and promotions.
From León to the world!
WebCartucho.com y EroticFeelThey are born in León, España. And from there they have conquered half the world. However, this task has not been easy and they have had to learn to combine rapid growth with the pause necessary to locate, prepare and digest the realities of each new market.
Frank: Héctor, you now sell halfway around the world. When did you start to internationalize?
Héctor:In 2016 we began to internationalize, obviously in Europe first because we are a Spanish company and it was easier and more natural to start here. Thus we grew to France, then Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal and the following year, Germany. In Italy we have barely gone out last year. And it must be said that WebCartucho has been translated into each of the languages of the countries where we operate, both the brand and the content. That is, it is Webcartridge in España and Mexico and in the United Kingdom it is WebCartridge, in France WebCartouche, in Germany WebPatrone and in Italy WebCartuccia, for example.
Frank: I imagine that the 100 square meter premises were too small for them.
Héctor:Yes. And theecommercein Prestashop too. In 2016 we made a platform change developing our ownecommercetailored, because we are technological by birth, and we then moved to the current facilities, which are facilities of more than 1,300 square meters with a warehouse more than 1,000 square meters high and we had a turnover of 3 or 4 million euros.
Frank: At that time EroticFeel did not yet exist. When did it occur to you to mix cartridges with vibrators?
Héctor:- Laughs - It's just that we were bored and we wanted something that would challenge us. That's why the next important milestone came in 2019 when we said, this is all very good, but we need something to give us another rhythm and make us grow at the marketing level. Because in the end you sell the cartridge on demand, it is not a product with which you will be able to tempt someone to buy it and take it home. Either you need it, or you don't buy it.
So, we did a research on business verticals and opportunities toecommercein España and we come to the idea of erotic toys.
We believed there was good demand and that's how EroticFeel was born. This would be around 2018 and in February 2019 we launched EroticFeel.com
______________________________________
Quality support
A strong point of EroticFeel is that it has the official support of the main brands in the erotic world. Something that differentiates them from their competition and in particular in España, they are the only ecommercethat has this official support.
______________________________________
Frank: I think this name has not been translated
Héctor:No. We chose a name that would work internationally and on a single domain and we quickly set out to internationalize the brand. Due to the type of product, throughout 2019-2020 we were able to operate in approximately 18 countries.
And curiously with ink cartridges we never made the jump to Latinoamérica until last year. While with EroticFeel we took the leap in 2020.
Localized and efficient logistics
Precisely one of the points of greatest contention - for both brands - has been the legal and logistical issue of being able to take their products throughout Europe, the United States and Latinoamérica.
In this they have found a fundamental ally withCubbo.
Frank: Why did they jump to Latinoamérica faster in EroticFeel and with WebCartucho it took them so long?
Héctor:Well first because the product in EroticFeel is the same for all regions. In WebCartucho it happens like with games and movies, they are “region locked” and España cartridges do not work in Latinoamérica and vice versa. There are regulations that make them different and they must be produced individually for each region.
Frank: Logistically WebCartucho must be extremely difficult to carry
Héctor:Yes. Because it is also a low ticket and an on-demand product. And that makes it logistically very complicated. For example, it prevents you from giving away the cost of shipping, affording returns more easily, or any other type of strategies. A high ticket allows you to do many more things logistically.
_____________________________________________
Own manufacturing
WebCartucho sells its own ink cartridges. They produce them themselves in China and adjust the specifications so that they meet the qualities and demands of each region.
_____________________________________________
Frank: You do the logistics of both brands together, correct?
Héctor:Yes, correct. And what we do have in common is that in both EroticFeel and WebCartucho the packages are very small and non-perishable.
Frank: And how did they come to Cubbo?
Héctor:The problem with Latinoamérica is that you need to send from the United States, or from Latinoamérica directly, because sending from España the shipping cost is very high and you need the ticket to be high, and when I say high, I say more than 50 euros. Because if not you are not competitive.
On top of that there is the customs problem. For example, to the United States we send products with a declared value of up to 800 euros without any type of customs, but in Latinoamérica, this is not possible. And it is not only a legal problem but also an administrative and efficiency problem. In Europe, no customs procedure takes more than two days.
At first when we operated EroticFeel in Mexico with shipments from España we had problems at customs with more or less 20% of the packages, they stopped them with any excuse. And that's why we decided to settle there. We created a subsidiary in Mexico and are looking for afulfillment, we started talking with Josu and decided to bet on Cubbo. And the truth is that we are doing very well.
Frank: And what is the current process of your logistics withCubbo?
Héctor:Originally, our product was erotic, we imported it from Europe and took it to Mexico. If it was WebCartucho we took it from our supplier in China, where our factories are, directly to Mexico and we distributed it from our warehouses in Mexico. Nowadays, after fine-tuning the machinery, we already do both operations offulfillmentfrom Mexico withCubbo.
What caused us the most problems was fine-tuning the local payment methods in Mexico.
Frank: Operate locally in Mexico withCubboHas it caused you any problems?
Héctor:Yes but not forCubbo. Let's see, the problem we have is a catalog reduction of EroticFeel. Due to the type of product it is, it requires certifications. Certifications that we do not have for all the products of that brand because we have to obtain them from the Mexican authorities. That is why, for now, we have the catalog reduced to 300 references of the more than 2000 that we have. But we hope that little by little it will be resolved.
Frank: And with WebCartucho?
Héctor:With WebCartucho having logistics in Mexico, which is what makes usCubbo, you have opened up the possibility for us to have the business there. Because otherwise, with the low ticket that WebCartucho has, it would be crazy to work everything with shipments from España.
Frank: Héctor, you are an entrepreneur with extensive experience. What was it that convinced you toCubboWhy did you decide to give it the opportunity?
Héctor:Honestly it was Josu. Talk to him and see how passionate he was about the world ofecommerce, that was what convinced me. Seeing that it was not a company that only gives you a service with certain conditions and that's it, and if you like it you take it and if not then nothing, but that there was a genuine interest in offering a solution. In addition, they transmitted to us their vision of growth throughout Latin America and we immediately thought: it is very good to grow with these people.
Frank: And have they continued to grow by Latinoamérica withCubbo?
Héctor:We are now reaching Chile and unfortunately we cannot do it withCubbobecause they are not there yet. But in Colombia we are going to do it withCubboand we don't worry because we know thatCubboIt will do just as well as in Mexico.
After we have these two countries, I do believe that we will wait a few months to be able to establish these three markets. What will be next? Logically I think Brasil, but without losing sight of other markets that could also be very interesting.
Frank:To close, what advice would you give to an entrepreneur who wants to start creating a business?ecommerceto sell in Latinoamérica?
Héctor:Well, I think the first thing is that for any entrepreneur who wants to create aecommerceI would tell you to rely on a marketplace to start. It is true that the marketplace does not allow you to do the cool things that you can do on your own.ecommerce, pero te da aliento al principio y eso importa mucho.
The second thing, with respect to Latinoamérica, I believe that it is a market that is true that is not as mature as Europe or the United States, but precisely for that reason it is interesting, because there is a lot to do and there are many opportunities. I believe that Latinoamérica has enormous potential and whoever positions itself now will be like the one who positioned itself in Europe ten years ago.
Are you looking for an ally that enhances your delivery process, compliance and customer satisfaction? Do not hesitate to contact us, we are the bestfulfillmentcenter for ecommerce in Mexico and Colombia, you just have to giveclick here.
