eCommerce success: Espadas y Más
Laia Ordoñez
14/09/2021
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Today, we are going to tell you about the story of Espadas y Más, a niche eCommerce that managed to break through despite not leading its segment from the start. Discover their evolution and where they are now.
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Let's be honest: how many companies selling swords online do you know? At a national level, there has always been one called Aceros de Hispania. Anyone considering entering this eCommerce niche would quickly realize how complicated it could be to gain a foothold.The story of Espadas y Más has a really interesting lesson. And it is, precisely, that the fact of targeting a market with an important leader should not stop you when it comes to entrepreneurship: you just have to adapt the strategy to your possibilities and resources, and not become obsessed with being number one, which will come if you do it right.
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Espadas y Más: the origins
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In the minds of its creators, the brand was not there to compete with anyone. They simply seized a small business opportunity to get some immediate return.This story begins with two friends and 1,000 euros. In fact, one of the two had no special interest in edged weapons or in such products in general. However, the other was (and is) passionate about the subject. So the latter convinced the former to buy a collection of swords sold by a collector for that amount, and then sell it piece by piece.There was no prior market research, no startups, no investors, no financing rounds. Just an intuition and some knowledge of the industry.
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INSIGHT: It is important to research the market, but there are times when we have to take the chance and instinct is more reliable than any figure. Espadasymas.com emerged as a way to scale something quite rudimentary: selling collections of swords by pieces through buying and selling portals such as Mil Anuncios. Something that could only occur to someone previously involved in this world as a hobbyist.
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Defining catalog and segmentation
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One cannot be understood without the other, i.e., in this case, the catalog cannot be understood without segmentation. Who buys swords? For what purpose? What types of swords? That is the first thing they had to be clear about when they threw themselves into the "mud" with a business like this.All niches have their specialization and characteristics. Selling zero waste cosmetics is not the same as selling jewelry and costume jewelry or, of course, medieval weapons.
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INSIGHT: The measure of success of an eCommerce is segmentation. Products as specific as swords obey very specific interests that we must know. As a good niche, we are not talking about general consumer products. That is why in this case it is even more important (if possible) to develop a detailed consumer profile by applying the buyer persona tool.
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Once they were clear about their segmentation, they came to a conclusion. They had to focus on:
- Merchandising of TV series, movies, video games... There are many fans who are willing to pay to have a collector's item.
- Recreation collectives: another niche within the niche is those fans of medieval history and fights. They want to have the most reliable weapons possible, shields, helmets, armor... and they must also be functional because they are for "combat" and not to hang on a wall as decoration.
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INSIGHT: Often a niche supports more than one sub-segmentation. The products may seem almost the same to the non-expert, but they are not. In addition, users' intentions and motivations are also different. Hyper-specializing the offer is how you get to loop the loop of the niche and squeeze the unthinkable.
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Added value of Espadas y Más
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But, apart from all of the above, is there anything else that has led this company to compete successfully? What has been its great differential advantage?On the one hand, the licenses of the works. They have swords from "The Lord of the Rings", "Game of Thrones", "Vikings" and video games like "The Witcher" licensed by the corresponding studios. For the collector it is always an added value that they come with that brand approval, their boxes and logos.In addition to this, they have gone a step further from the moment they had the ability to forge the weapons, to customize them to the customer's taste and do it according to the use that will be given to them.As if that were not enough, they have the best brands of national knife industries because, in addition to swords, they sell knives, tactical kitchen knives.
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INSIGHT: Offer products that cover needs, which not only have to be material but can also be emotional and social (such as geek collecting). If you do so, you will be able to offer a good shopping experience, generate recurrence and build loyalty among your audience.
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Espadas y Más eCommerce
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When you visit their website do not expect to see something extraordinarily complex. As in everything we have been learning about this company, functionality always comes before everything else.
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And their eCommerce works, there is no doubt about it.It has different categories that cover a wide spectrum within its vertical: swords, katanas, weapons (here they include airsoft and airsoft weapons), armor, medieval clothing...The product sheets are very complete, with technical definitions full of details regarding their manufacture and with references to their use. In the case of merchandising, they rely very well on their YouTube channel to contextualize the weapons with scenes or plots of movies and games.
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INSIGHT: When selling a product so closely linked to the fan phenomenon, anything you can bring to enrich what's around it will work to increase the perceived value and, at the same time, drive impulse buying.
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Marketing and content in Espadas y Más
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What stands out the most at first glance is their YouTube channel, where they perform reviews, unboxings and all kinds of cutting or combat tests. It is a channel that provides interesting content for the brand's customers or, in fact, for any fan of this type of products.
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The rest of their communication channels are quite conducive to engagement. They have a relaxed and friendly approach to their followers. For example, on their Instagram profile they do not hesitate to use memes and jokes related to current events.It is nothing groundbreaking, but it establishes a very close relationship with their community. That is something that always works.
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INSIGHT: Something interesting stands out in their communication, almost anecdotal, that speaks very clearly of their strategic vision. They made a series of swords from "Game of Thrones'' that they gave to Movistar to promote that series. In exchange, they only asked to be mentioned, thanks to which they obtained enormous popularity.They have also collaborated with the State Security Forces to make known which knives are or are not allowed by law.
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Success keys of Espadas y Más
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- Minimum Viable Product: this concept is very interesting within entrepreneurship. It is about launching products that will be improved and polished as they are already generating sales. Many companies delay the launch and lose business opportunities. They, on the other hand, launched without having a clear idea of what they were going to sell, or if they were going to sell anything else after that first collection of swords sold in pieces.
- The freaky side: all hobbies in general, and collecting in particular, have an irrational side. They themselves are freaks of their own, which makes their customers feel fully identified rather than judged.
- Hyper-specialization: they have been able to hyper-segment within their niche, offering ultra-specific products to an extremely specific audience that tends to spare no expense when it comes to swords and the like.
- Licensing: it is worth investing when you are going to sell products like this. Your audience needs to have a product that, in many cases, is an investment that tends to be revalued.
- Second hand: they have a section where they offer used guns for sale. Lacking original packaging or showing some marks of use, they are sold for a much lower price.
- Vertical diversification: by this we mean that they do not just sell knives, but also that you can find in their catalog knives that go beyond the decorative or recreational. They have kitchen or field knives, for example, which are of the highest quality.
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What do you think of the story of Espadas y Más? Would you dare to set up an eCommerce aimed at such a specific niche? Share with us what you have learned from this success story.
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Images | Unsplash, Espadas y Más.