What does any eCommerce business need to experience significant growth?
The answer is simple: cash.
About My Custom Sports Chair
My Custom Sports Chair got its start in 2015 with NHL licensing, and since that time has experienced steady growth across multiple areas of the market. To date, the business now services the MLB, NCAA, the NFL, NASCAR, and more—but with that progress came the need for a solid business line of credit to sustain such growth.
"[As a start-up], it's tough to get funding from a bank," says Ricky Walton, president and founder of My Custom Sports Chair. "For us...we get volume discounts on inventory, so we're always looking to get cash up front. We ended up with Loop, and it's been fantastic. We got a solid line of credit...and it's organically helped us grow our online sales substantially. This year alone, we're up 389% on Shopify...it just goes to show how much Loop has helped us out this year."
The Challenge
1. Balancing demand and cashflow
Despite their positive results, My Custom Sports Chair faced new financial challenges alongside their continued growth and success. Initially, the business encountered some complications as they struggled to balance demand with cash flow—especially when it came to filling large orders for corporate customers. With these high-volume orders came the responsibility of absorbing inventory costs upfront, while not experiencing profit from those orders for 90 days. This tenuous financial position made it difficult to fill consumer orders and buy inventory in bulk, which limited the business’s growth and rendered the process a balancing act.
2. Lack of easy solutions
When lack of funds began to interfere with potential growth, My Custom Sports Chair began exploring inventory financing solutions. Despite the many services available, options such as Clearbanc and standard bank lines of credit didn’t make the cut—Clearbanc proved too pricey, with their flat fee of 6% to 12.5% that companies absorb on top of what they borrow, and banks don’t always offer the kind of growth capital a business needs. Ultimately, My Custom Sports Chair settled on Loop because of its transparency, ease of use, and extremely responsive representatives.
"There's complete transparency, and [Loop] has really, really helped our business...by allowing us to grow," says Walton.
3. Capitalizing on every opportunity
Walton is exactly right: Loop allows entrepreneurs to run their business while taking care of their necessary financials. Loop's goal is to give fast-growing eCommerce brands the funds and financial service they need to scale. Providing straightforward answers, fast and effective assistance, and cash flow for inventory, Loop offers a practical and fully-digital loan process for business owners.
The result? Uninterrupted business transactions and orders, so that small businesses can continue to develop based on opportunity rather than cash availability.
Why Loop?
With capital needs taken care of, businesses that tap into revolving credit lines (such as those that Loop offers) are free to focus on other priorities—but not all financial providers provide the same excellent service and attention to detail. Specific to Loop are a level of customer service and attention to detail that have been unmatched by competing options. Walton, who explored several alternatives prior to landing on Loop for My Custom Sports Chair, confirms: "I'm a big believer in attention to detail...and your representative sold me on that."
Moreover, Loop's digital dashboard is incredibly user-friendly and transparent, showing users exactly how much cash is available, the amount owed for monthly payments, and more. In fact, it was this feature that particularly stood out to Walton as he explored inventory financing solutions: "The platform...is like a bank statement in real time," he said. This is exactly what Loop strives to provide for business owners: a lending process that is as simple and straightforward as possible. In addition, for specific questions that can't be addressed through the dashboard, each client receives a representative to ensure that their business's needs are being met.
The Results
Loop has proven to be an invaluable asset for My Custom Sports Chair, especially as the business has continued to expand. Perhaps most importantly, the line of credit that Loop extended made it possible to fill large orders with peace of mind. Without this revolving line of credit, Walton states that his business would have had to leave "money on the table," which has been one of the most frustrating roadblocks he's encountered in years past. Specifically, in 2018 and 2019, My Custom Sports Chair didn't have the funds to purchase product or bulk inventory, which ultimately meant that the business was limited in the amount of growth it could achieve for the fiscal year. Compare this with the success that they've enjoyed in 2020, throughout which the business has tripled its sales—and in a pandemic, no less!
"For the first time since we've been in business, we're looking...[at] a six-figure profit," Walton says, with profits split between 85% CAD and 15% USD. These numbers have, in large part, been achievable due to the ability to fill bulk orders at discounted rates, which has enabled a 14% increase in net margin in just five months. With this extra revenue, the company is investing in extra marketing efforts to gain brand traction and exposure, both through online platforms and internationally. Their goal is to eventually build a franchise model of My Custom Sports Chair in several different countries.
"Now, we have the extra capital to market our product...and it's been growing our brand substantially," Walton says. "It's been great."
An Essential Service for Brand Growth
My Custom Sports Chair is just one example of the business development that Loop has made possible for high-growth brands, making success a real and attainable objective. Most remarkably, without Loop's service and line of credit, Walton says, "In my opinion...we wouldn't have been able to have the back half we've had [this year]. It's a combination of both our consumer sales, and the ability now to fill direct-to-consumer and corporate sales at the same time. It's been a game-changer. ...If we didn't have [the line of credit, we would've lost] a quarter of a million bucks."
Ultimately, as the saying goes: "You need money to make money," and Loop believes that no high-growth brand should be denied the opportunity to scale based on its ability to front costs. Check out our efficient credit estimator and cost calculator today to see how Loop might benefit your business!
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