In August of 2020, mDesign Home Decor officially became the 4th highest-ranking third-party brand on Amazon’s US online marketplace. Amazon bases the ranking on an algorithm that considers customer star ratings, reviews, and overall sales. Yet, mDesign’s rocket-like growth did not come about merely by chance. Years of industry experience, innovative business concepts, first-rate product design, and the hard work of many dedicated to the brand’s growth have equated to its exciting trajectory and continued success.
mDesign Goes Digital from Day One
mDesign leadership is undoubtedly no stranger to the home goods industry. mDesign creators are pioneers who shaped the home storage and organization category into what it is today. By the time mDesign debuted on the Amazon marketplace in 2015, the founder Bob Immerman had already clocked 40+ years of success at the center of the home decor design industry. Yet, the idea for mDesign came out of frustration with the industry and its reliance on retailers. The founder searched for a business model that would allow him to sell a full product range, no longer at the mercy of big-name retailers with limited shelf space.
mDesign’s business model bypassed retailers, opting for a direct-to-consumer brand model that retained control over vital business decisions. This model allowed mDesign to avoid retail giants picking products to fit their own needs each season, which could leave many incredible mDesign pieces without distribution.
Furthermore, the business model went beyond traditional DTC, as mDesign leaders chose to sell its products within online marketplaces exclusively.
This Ohio-based consumer goods brand, backed by decades of trendsetting product creation experience, chose to chart a new course on a road less traveled with its online marketplace-focused business model. mDesign soon found out that the road less traveled was paved in success.
The Current State of a Growing Home Goods Industry
Today, the home goods industry is a $240B industry and growing. It is clear from recent reports that e-commerce sales drive that growth. From 2018 to 2019, e-commerce home goods sales rose from $44B to $54B of that overall $240B figure. The home goods industry only saw a 3% increase in sales year over year, while the sector’s e-commerce portion saw sales increase a whopping 24% in the same timeframe.
E-commerce sales saw a higher growth percentage than the home goods industry as a whole. For a home goods business that chose to go completely digital like mDesign, this e-commerce growth is an encouraging figure. If the trend continues (and with the world pandemic, e-commerce has already seen tremendous acceleration), online sales should outweigh traditional home goods store sales in only a few short years. mDesign leaders chose the digitally native path from day one. Now, the numbers suggest this was a savvy move on their part.
mDesign Makes the Most of the Marketplace
mDesign decided to build its online marketplace business model based on a few significant ideas/decisions:
- mDesign would ditch brick-and-mortar retail, opting for a completely digital business model
- mDesign would utilize Amazon’s online marketplace to launch their new home decor brand
- mDesign would offer a broad, affordable product selection to meet consumers’ diverse needs
- mDesign would leverage existing marketplace traffic to keep company marketing costs to virtually nothing
- mDesign would not focus on its e-commerce website initially, as most direct-to-consumer brands do
- mDesign would continue to create new functional yet stylish home decor products for all consumers
- mDesign would, if all went according to plan, use US Amazon marketplace success to scale internationally and establish visibility in a variety of digital marketplace settings
With these risky but exciting decisions at the core of the mDesign business model, the brand officially launched its first digital home goods store on Amazon’s online marketplace.
Launching on Amazon
The benefits of launching mDesign on Amazon Marketplace were resounding. mDesign’s leadership saw true potential for the brand to maximize its sales while using the services supplied by the marketplace to keep costs in check. Still, it took a lot of strategic, hard work to create the success that mDesign continues to see in the US marketplace year after year.
One of the greatest benefits of launching in the marketplace environment was keeping overhead costs lower than a traditional DTC e-commerce company. The traditional DTC business model typically focuses on building a website, marketing to consumers, storing product inventory, and fulfilling orders. However, paying for website developers, advertising to drive traffic, inventory storage/carrying costs, and order fulfillment services means a business’s initial costs skyrocket. The marketplace model reduces or eliminates these expenses.
When Is the Right Time to Add a Website?
For mDesign, sales were climbing, and after a few years of marketplace success, it was time to give the brand name more visibility. To do so, mDesign chose to expand beyond the marketplace.
mDesign’s first strategic move outside of the digital marketplace was the addition of mDesignhomedecor .com. The e-commerce website is mDesign’s direct-to-consumer digital platform that shows consumers everything fun, helpful, smart, organized, and stylish about the mDesign brand without the marketplace’s constraints. mDesignhomedecor .com efficiently assists any customer, whether a new potential buyer or a veteran mDesign fan, in learning more about all the products they need or want to buy for their home.
The website offers shoppers informative and cleverly-titled mblogs. mDesign produces multiple mblogs per month, and each has various mtips to help their customers create a more organized, stylish, and clutter-free life. The website also offers consumers the chance to read up on trends, news, and the brand’s latest press. It even helps brand enthusiasts apply to become the next mBassador, or register to become an mDesign affiliate at mDesignhomedecor .com.
Up Next: mDesign’s Digital Expansion Worldwide
Amazon was the first stop on the digital marketplace highway for mDesign. Now, the home decor brand has recently entered several of Amazon’s digital marketplaces worldwide, including Canada, Mexico, and many existing marketplaces in western European countries.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, mDesign will work closely with Amazon to launch more new markets in Europe as well as Australia, Asia, and The Middle East. mDesign will establish itself as an anchor brand in these new Amazon international marketplaces as they open.
mDesign already expanded to many other digital marketplaces, both foreign and domestic, including eBay, Target, Sears, and most recently Walmart. Next, they plan to launch digital stores on eBay marketplaces in western Europe, including France and Germany. Additional marketplace expansion includes platforms like Overstock, fruugo, Wish, and many more in the works for 2021.
While growing and innovating within the original US marketplace store, mDesign leadership also maintains a firm hold on the global marketplace picture. mDesign confidently marches down new roads, often untraveled by most other digital brands. Their ingenuity and willingness to take those roads have produced incredible rewards and international expansion opportunities. mDesign’s current leadership seems poised for continued growth as they take big, smart, thoughtfully-calculated risks into the future.
About mDesign
mDesign is dedicated to creating a curated collection of products from all over the world that brings simplicity, style and organization to your home. We offer exceptional value on unique solutions from bathroom accessories and pantry storage to décor and furniture — and everything in between. We bring you products designed to make everyday living a little easier. For more information on mDesign, visit https://mdesignhomedecor.com/.
