Le Creuset Multi Buy Discounts and Errors of Judgement

Running a web shop profitably is a challenging task.

This is partly because a web shop has two overheads that Bricks and Mortar shops don’t. 

And they are significant.

Firstly, costs from online advertising (Google) to generate sales and secondly, costs from delivery (DPD) to fulfil sales. So, any website owner worth his salt, will be aiming to negotiate lower costs and/or increase the value of those sales, so that the average order value outweighs the associated costs.

Another way to increase profitability is to make each order quicker to ‘pick and pack’, in our Warehouse, as that reduces the wage bill for that sale.

If we sell products in the same pack sizes as we receive them, we don’t have to unpack and then repack them, and this is a very significant contribution to our efficiency. For instance, it takes far less time to send out a case of four Le Creuset plates than it does to send out one Le Creuset plate (less time and a sales four times bigger)

So, we are conducting an experiment to see if we can bribe, or persuade, you to sometimes buy things in pack quantities. This will make our job easier and in turn we are making it cheaper for you.

Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn’t it…

The products we have chosen are some of our best sellers from the Le Creuset Stoneware range of Mugs, Plates, Bowls etc.

That's it for this week. Another very brief email by my standard. If you sometimes feel I go on a bit, then this may suit your taste better!

If you prefer my longer ramblings, then doubtless these will return in the fullness of time.

I’ll leave you with a story that I picked up from Steven Bartlett’s new book, Diary of a CEO,  and then found an article online about it.

In 1985, US president Ronald Reagan outraged Jewish people in Israel and beyond when he visited a German military cemetery containing the graves of 49 members of the Nazi’s Waffen-SS. Reagan’s controversial visit prompted a nuanced reply from (the then) Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres.

 ‘When a friend makes a mistake, the friend remains a friend’, said Peres, ‘and the mistake remains a mistake.’

Peres’ reaction was a wise one, the article went on. When a friend does something that upsets or angers us, we may be inclined to minimise what happened, to try and pretend they didn’t do anything hurtful. Alternatively, we might lash out or even end the friendship.

Saying, “My friend was wrong and hurt me. She or He remains my friend” – many people find difficult.

We seem to be in a time of increasing polarisation, (My opinion is right, and if you don’t agree with me, then you’re against me.) And I feel that we could do with a lot more of Peres’ type of reaction to what he viewed as a major error of judgment on Reagan’s behalf.

There is also a lot to be said for “Agreeing to Disagree”!

I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful weekend.
 

Kind regards

Andrew

Andrew Bluett-Duncan

Director