A 10-year veteran in foreign trade set his sights on Amazon and went from zero to number one in the category!

How can Amazon sellers achieve healthy growth in sales and profits by keeping up with cross-border developments and not falling behind?

There are many companies that have transformed from traditional foreign trade to cross-border e-commerce, but there are not many examples that can stand out in the fierce competition. Shenzhen Aohe is one of the best.

Since entering the cross-border e-commerce market, Aohe has successfully established a foothold on Amazon and has not fallen behind, from the initial "ignorant exploration" to being ranked at the top of the category for many years. What is the secret of its long-term success? Aohe CEO Xiao Li has a set of strategies, which include working hard on products, supply chain and operations.

Going against the wind! Traditional foreign trade companies transforming into cross-border e-commerce usher in a second spring in their careers

Speaking of Xiao Li, many fans of En.com may be familiar with him. As an old friend of En.com, Xiao Li has been interviewed by us several times and made wonderful speeches at the En.com Conference. Let's review Xiao Li's cross-border journey.

In 2005, Aohe Company started its traditional foreign trade business. After nearly 10 years of hard work, the company has achieved certain results in the field of foreign trade. However, in the process of development, factors such as rising material and labor costs, unstable exchange rates and the environmental protection policies at the time hindered the development of a large number of foreign trade companies including Aohe, which forced Xiao Li to seek new development opportunities.

In the second half of 2014, after careful consideration, Xiao Li made a bold decision - to jump from traditional foreign trade to cross-border e-commerce, focusing on the Amazon platform, mainly selling Audio and Video accessories and other products, and successfully ushered in the second spring of his career.

It is understood that Aohe's main market has expanded from a single site at the beginning to full-site operations, and its products have gradually emerged on the Amazon platform. Now its main related categories are always among the best, and it has also achieved the excellent result of dominating the category for many years .

Analyzing the reasons for his success, Xiao Li does not deny that the cross-border e-commerce bonus period has driven him. When he switched to cross-border e-commerce, the industry was booming. As one of the lucky ones, Xiao Li took advantage of his first-mover advantage to "go against the wind".

As we all know, the time advantage of entering the cross-border e-commerce market is not a decisive condition for the long-term development of an enterprise. If you want to keep up with the cross-border team and not be eliminated, products, supply chain and operations are crucial. Xiao Li is well aware of this and has been working hard on these aspects in recent years:

First of all, we have been deeply engaged in a single vertical category for many years and have a better understanding of the products and markets in the main category. In addition, our offline operations also provide support for our online development, so the quality and cost-effectiveness of our products have always been good.

Secondly, cost control for the entire supply chain process is also done very well.

At the same time, we continue to improve our operational capabilities, and our pre-sales and after-sales services are in place. We have had a local after-sales team in the U.S. for a long time. In recent years, the company has also attached great importance to refined operations, and has been making continuous progress in terms of on-site and off-site promotion.

In Xiao Li's opinion, compared with traditional foreign trade companies, since the transformation to cross-border e-commerce, they have achieved independent product research and development, free pricing power, independent marketing strategies and methods, as well as brand building, and cross-border e-commerce has great potential.

How can cross-border e-commerce achieve healthy growth in sales and profits under the new situation?

But one undeniable fact is that the entry threshold for cross-border e-commerce is getting higher, and the era of making money as soon as the product is put on the shelves is over.

Will there still be opportunities for newbies to engage in cross-border e-commerce in 2023? Many people’s answer is no.

Industry insiders generally believe that the bonus period of cross-border e-commerce has disappeared, and now cross-border e-commerce is no longer suitable for newbies to enter the market. In response to this commonplace question, Xiao Li believes that it is very important for new sellers to have certain financial strength and product innovation capabilities, as well as a long-term development mentality. Cross-border e-commerce still has opportunities, but opportunities are only for those who are prepared.

At the same time, negative complaints such as "poor sales and low profits" emerge in an endless stream at the beginning of each year , which once again triggers negative emotions among a large number of practitioners. Faced with these problems, Xiao Li is obviously much more optimistic.

Regarding the problem of poor sales at the beginning of each year, Xiao Li believes that the specific situation varies from category to category, and may also be related to the foundation, product selection, and operation strategy of different companies. Their sales in the first quarter of this year were basically the same as the same period last year. However, the company does encounter times when the sales task is relatively not very heavy. At this stage, the company is also secretly working hard to invest heavily in the development and reserve of products and intellectual property rights, while optimizing the management and processes of the supply chain that has already been operated, just to be fully prepared for the product explosion.

Regarding the profit issue, Xiao Li believes that an important factor in the hot topic of "cross-border e-commerce profit margins are getting lower and lower" is that different sellers in different categories have different expectations for profits. For their company, earning the industry's average profit can already meet short-term expectations.

The profit situation of cross-border sellers is closely related to the sellers' own business development strategies, and is also inseparable from the influence of the overall environment. Xiao Li believes that objectively speaking, the current economic situation in the global market is indeed not optimistic. Taking the European and American markets , which are the main markets for cross-border sellers , as an example, consumption is relatively weak due to the influence of inflation , and the performance of many companies is lower than expected. However , judging from the current situation of Aohe , the online sales channels of its main related categories are in a state of slight increase .

Therefore, regarding the main expected development goals for 2023, Xiao Li is optimistic that in addition to continuing to maintain considerable profits, the company's performance will also grow steadily.

Due to the relatively weak market, consumption downgrade, and internal circulation, how to develop steadily while maintaining profits is a puzzle for most sellers. Especially for an old player who has been in the cross-border business for nearly 10 years, the possibility of slow growth or stagnation is greater. It is obvious that Aohe is gradually getting rid of this problem. What is Xiao Li's successful business secret?

From April 11th to 12th, at the 2023 Sixth Cross-border E-commerce Network Marketing Conference hosted by Ennet , Xiao Li will give a keynote speech on "How can top sellers achieve healthy growth in sales and profits under the new situation?" During the speech, he will not only share in detail his personal successful experience of steady development while maintaining profits, but also explain in detail how Aohe can increase revenue and reduce expenditure, optimize the entire cost of the supply chain, develop high-tech and special products and accumulate intellectual property rights, as well as refined promotion and operation .

Are you interested in sharing your nearly 10 years of cross-border business experience? Please long press the QR code below to sign up for the Yien Conference and listen to Xiao Li's business experience face to face.