Meet Shaun Loughlin, Head of eCommerce at LeMieux, as he tells you more about his career journey and shares his expertise on expanding to international markets.

Shaun's career and Advice

Tell us about your career so far and the essential turning points that got you where you are today.

I’m approaching 20 years in retail now, with 15 of those being specifically in eCommerce. I had no intention of ever working in this field, it’s not something I studied for or consciously decided to do, it just sort of happened.

I started in my early 20s in the warehouse of a tiny motocross distribution and mail order business in the west of Ireland. 15 years later that company was one of the largest action sports retailers in the country with 20 websites, 80 staff, operations all over Europe, and I was the MD. If I’m honest, I’m still not entirely sure how that happened!

Everything changed for me around 2007 when I began to involve myself in the eCommerce operation. It was immediately clear to me that this was the future of the business, and of retail in general. The company fully pivoted to eCommerce in 2009 and I’ve continued to specialise in ecom ever since, gradually building out my expertise from just operations to UX, tech, data, marketing and finance.

Since then, I’ve worked for or consulted for multiple retailers and brands, usually with a specific focus on international eCommerce expansion.

Looking back at your career, what advice would you give your 20-year-old self?

If I could go back and speak to my 20 something year old self, I’m not sure I would have listened to me anyway! I had become a company director far too young at just 24 and thought I knew everything about everything. I wish I had of dedicated more time to learning and developing my skillset. I knew everything about the business I was working in but not much about the world around it. I now spend a good amount of my time learning, reading, going to conferences and staying ahead of what’s happening in the industry. Back then I spent too much time “doing” (often badly) and not enough time educating myself, planning and preparing for the future. ECommerce changes drastically every few years, you’ve got to stay ahead of it.  

Shaun's conference at eCommerce Expo

Shaun will be part of the panel “Exploiting Marketplaces: The tips and tricks for global expansion”

Tell us about your session.

The session is for marketers, eCommerce professionals, and global businesses interested in exploring potential growth within international marketplaces. We’ll be discussing the advantages and potential pitfalls in selling on marketplaces and giving insight on how best to grow a brand internationally leveraging marketplaces.  If you’re new to international marketplaces or just want to learn more, this is the session for you.

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What criteria should businesses consider when choosing the right international marketplaces to expand into?

Category revenue potential and your potential for category share is where you should be looking first. If the category you fall within isn’t popular on a given marketplace and there are limited relatable search terms, you’re in for a tough time. Likewise, if you’re going up against well established incumbents; you’ve got to be confident there is potential for you to steal some category share from them. Marketplaces are becoming more and more competitive, the days of listing product and the sales just rolling in are long gone.

How can businesses effectively manage and mitigate the high competition found on marketplaces like Amazon?

Profitably, there are only two ways to do this.

• You’ve got to have a unique selling point that separates your product from the competition, be it brand, price, features, quality etc.
• You’ve got to be better than the competition at marketing and selling your product. Your imagery, copy and marketing efforts have got to be a level above. 

Both options are getting harder and harder.

As global head of eCommerce at LeMieux, you managed to triple the brand's B2C eCommerce business in less than two years. What were the key aspects of your strategy to achieve this goal?

I was lucky to join a brand that already had all of the ingredients for eCommerce success in place. The product was excellent, the website was really well set up, the business had geared itself up operationally to cope with growth and the directors were very supportive of my plans.

What was required was more traffic and a digital infrastructure. In the first six months I focused on building out our digital marketing channels, then putting the tech, team and agency partners in place to support us scaling up. In the second half of the year I focused on the customer, gaining more insight and delivering what they wanted to see on the website. Since then, it’s been about building on top of those foundations and optimising.

The main aspect of my strategy was pursuing true incremental growth for the brand – not just mindlessly pursuing retail growth. As a multichannel business with a large wholesale operation and distribution partners, it was really import that our B2C business didn’t grow simply by cannibalising other areas of the business. We have managed to strike that balance successfully, with our B2C and B2B operations both thriving at the same time.

With limited branding opportunities on marketplaces, how can businesses maintain and communicate their brand identity?

Amazon are getting better at this, and brand owners do have more opportunities to tell their story now. Making use of A+ content, building your store and using more immersive ad creative formats are essential to this. Amazon DSP opens up even more opportunities for larger brands to communicate their brand identity.

What emerging trends in eCommerce marketplaces should businesses be aware of for future growth?

Marketplaces have become more than digital car boot sales and online department stores; they’re becoming marketing channels in their own right and an essential part of your brand’s digital presence. Amazon’s ad business is bigger than the global newspaper industry. By some estimates marketplaces account for over a third of all eCommerce purchases worldwide. If your brand isn’t where the customer is when the customer is ready to buy; another brand gets the sale.

Quick-fire questions

What is your favourite social media platform, and why?

This might sound crazy given what I do for a living, but I really dislike social media. I guess YouTube, technically it’s social media but to me it’s just a tv channel.

The tool you use the most on your laptop?

Excel, nothing else comes close.

Is there any marketing campaign (from any brand) that you liked recently?

I’m not just saying this because I work here, but I think the LeMieux marketing team absolutely knocked it out of the park with our Keep Caring campaign. Give it a google and see for yourself.  

How many unopened emails do you currently have in your inbox?

274, which is very good for me!

What is one of your proudest moments in your career?

Being invited to speak at 10 Downing Street.

What is something you’re still looking forward to achieving in your career?

I would love to help build a small brand into a household name.