Are you leaning into marketplaces to grow your sales, only to realise your bottom-line profitability is taking a massive hit?
It is common to look at your top-line revenue on external retail platforms, think you are absolutely winning, and then realise your margins are being completely hollowed out by hidden fees, ad costs, and brutal return rates.
We recently caught up with Daniel Baker, Head of eCommerce at Blue Vanilla, at our Connect LDN panel. He shared how an established fashion brand manages multi-channel growth without letting marketplaces cannibalise their native DTC store.
When you scale onto external platforms, upfront performance metrics can look incredible. But if you aren’t auditing the backend, you are likely building up massive operational debt.
As Daniel said on stage: "If you look at your P&L, you’ll think you’re doing amazing, and then actually at the bottom, it’s not."
In categories like apparel, returns frequently hit 30% to 40%. When you factor in the logistics of processing those returns alongside the rising costs of sponsored listings on partner sites, your actual profitability can quickly vanish.
Here is how you can stop the bleeding and run a highly strategic, protective marketplace strategy:
Stop looking at gross sales. You must build your platform-specific P&L around your post-return data.
"Up front, the ROAS might look really good," Daniel explained, "but we were getting 30% to 40% of the stock back, and the cost of that in terms of logistics and everything... it impacts whether you are keeping or getting lifetime value out of those customers."
If customers are searching for your exact brand name on Amazon, you are actively cannibalising your own D2C channel. If platforms force you to pay for sponsored listings just to appear for your own brand terms, it is a sign to walk away.
"We knew that people were just searching for our brand, so we would rather they just came to us," Daniel noted.
Do not put your best-selling lines on partner marketplaces. Keep your highest-margin, top-performing SKUs strictly exclusive to your own website.
"If you do not want a bestselling line to be on a certain marketplace, you keep it for yourself," Daniel advised, "because you know that you will make more profit selling it on your own website."
Treat external platforms strictly as an acquisition top-of-funnel for audiences who wouldn't otherwise find you. If a platform isn't introducing you to a totally new customer demographic, it's just draining your native community.
Retail platforms will frequently alter your product copy, imagery, or pricing structure to fit their own internal algorithms. Audit your listings weekly to fight for consistency. Poorly formatted partner listings will rapidly degrade your premium brand equity.
Look at your multi-channel sales data today. Pick your top partner platform and calculate your exact profitability after subtracting returns, logistics, and sponsored ad spend. If the bottom line is flat, it’s time to restrict their product feed.
We are finally heading back to London on October 15th for our flagship conference, Connect LDN!
If you've been to one of our Connect events before, you already know the vibe. This is completely different from dry, corporate conferences with endless sales pitches. Instead, we are bringing together hundreds of DTC founders, marketers, and operators for a day of genuine connection and unfiltered learning.
We are lining up some incredible brand-led panels and fireside chats. We'll be talking about what is really working across acquisition, creative, retention, and operations - with plenty of space to catch up, share ideas, and grab a drink together afterwards.
Because we are brand-first, tickets are completely free for eCommerce brands. Register now to get your invite.
We sat down with Damian Gosling, Head of Performance Marketing at the wellness brand fourfiveuk, to break down what actually drives profitable growth on Meta in 2026.
We dive deep into:
Watch on YouTube or stream on Spotify.
Google Redesigns the Search Box (Biggest Change in 25 Years): Google is turning its static search box into an intelligent, conversational assistant. Instead of just waiting for you to hit "Enter," the new search field will actively guide, refine, and answer queries in real-time as users type. What this means: Keywords are taking a backseat to conversational intent. To keep winning organic search traffic, your site must transition to answering natural, multi-step customer questions rather than just stuffing static keywords into product pages.
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