BHFOAdding new marketplaces and growing on eBay

Company Overview

Jon and Stacie Sefton started BHFO out of the basement of their home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2003. BHFO partnered with one of the best-known lingerie companies in the US to help liquidate its shelf pulls and returns by selling those items online. After adding many brands and product sources, the apparel retailer now operates out of a 250,000-square-foot facility in Cedar Rapids and employs more than 160 people.

The Situation

• Originally sold only on eBay
• Wanted to grow its online business by selling on more marketplaces
• Needed technology to integrate with more channels
• Sought increased presence on eBay

In 2013, BHFO was selling only on eBay. The company wanted to integrate with emerging marketplaces that had recently launched. Additionally, the company was looking to put its best foot forward on eBay.

The Solution

• ChannelAdvisor Marketplaces to integrate with several new marketplaces

BHFO started using ChannelAdvisor Marketplaces to grow its online reach and sell on new marketplaces.

“We’ve taken advantage of the integration pieces with ChannelAdvisor,” said Stacie Sefton, BHFO CEO. “ChannelAdvisor has been amazing, helping us integrate with marketplaces like Amazon and Trade Me.”

A ChannelAdvisor customer since 2006, BHFO had briefly parted ways with ChannelAdvisor’s software in an attempt to build its own technology. However, the company soon realised that such a task wasn’t feasible and distracted them from their core business.

“We took a break from ChannelAdvisor for a few years. We were working on some of our own custom technology,” said Sefton. “We soon realised that was a mistake, and we’re back today. The value ChannelAdvisor offers through their sales expertise and by helping us diversify, manage inventory and provide the best customer service is exceptional.”

The Results

• Became eBay’s largest apparel seller in the world
• Grew its business 200% the first year after coming back to ChannelAdvisor
• Expanded to six new marketplaces in 16 months

After returning to ChannelAdvisor and using its software, BHFO expanded significantly. The company has added many new channels and continues to grow, both domestically and internationally.

“Once we came back to ChannelAdvisor, we grew our business 200%. We’re now eBay’s largest apparel seller in the world,” said Sefton. “We’re integrating with Tmall.com and MercadoLivre right now. We can’t imagine what our business would be like without ChannelAdvisor. We have a lot of opportunities that we didn’t have prior to ChannelAdvisor.”