brickfox and limango start cooperation in the marketplace business and enable retailers to sell fully automatically on limango.de
2007 became limango and has established itself as the leading shopping platform for families in Germany in just a few years. No other platform in Germany is as good for the family target group as limango. As a subsidiary of the Otto Group, limango operates the open shop limango.de in addition to the closed online shopping community. For a good two and a half years, limango has also been selling items from partners here that are permanently available and complement the range in all family-relevant categories. A fully automated connection with brickfox has recently been introduced.
In the interview, Torsten Blümel, Managing Director of brickfox, Martin Oppenrieder, co-founder and Managing Director at limango, and Lennard Kressin, Head of Marketplace at limango, talk about the collaboration and why partners from the brickfox portfolio should activate limango as their next marketplace channel.
Why is it efficient and sustainable to use brickfox to expand your existing marketplace activities, such as on Amazon or Otto, to limango?
Torsten Blümel: brickfox accompanies retailers from the first multichannel step to the complex multichannel eCommerce project. In addition to automated product range management, according to individually defined rules and marketplace-specific enrichment of product data - such as product descriptions and prices - brickfox coordinates all marketplace orders and inventory updates fully automatically. brickfox acts as a central control software regardless of the type and number of sales channels. This enables brands and retailers who have chosen brickfox to expand efficiently and sustainably.
Why should retailers who already work with brickfox now also be activated for the new limango channel?
Torsten Blümel: We are delighted that we can now expand our range of automated interfaces to marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Real and Otto to include the #1 platform for the family target group - limango.de. With the help of a marketplace connection, online retailers, as well as manufacturers and producers, can increase the reach of their products far beyond the boundaries of their online shops. With its mix of shop and action platform, limango can be a key addition to the online strategy.
What makes limango special and what added value does it offer families who shop on limango.de?
Martin Oppenrieder: At limango, the shopping needs of our moms and dads are our top priority. The trust of our customers and their loyalty are the foundation for our continued growth. We try to personalize our offers more and more so that our customers can keep track of everything - this is not always easy with so many offers. Our category managers deliberately select the best brands and offers and thus support families when shopping. I know from my own experience that parents have little time to manage a family - our promotions should help with this if they are played out to the right person at the right time. In the shop, families should find all the products they need for everyday family life. But also for the many special moments of the year, such as family holidays, birthday or Christmas presents or the right clothes for the change of seasons - every need can be met on limango.
People keep talking about the limango "shopping club," but that's only one part of limango. Your open shop on limango.de and the many retailers who sell there are central to limango and your customers. What is the difference between a shopping club and a shop?
Martin Oppenrieder: The shopping club offers new, exclusive sales promotions every day with which we want to inspire. In addition to well-known classic brands, we are always looking for new, innovative brands that we believe in. Our aim is to offer top brand products at top prices. Our partners grant us exclusive special prices because we only sell their products within a closed community, in limited quantities and as part of time-limited promotions. The limango price promise guarantees our customers that we have the best price for all items in our promotions.
For a good two and a half years, we have been offering additional items from partners in the limango.de shop that are permanently available. Why we took this step becomes clear when you consider one of the core principles of the shopping community: limited-time sales promotions. With a permanent range of top brands and products from selected partners, we are expanding the permanently available range into family-relevant niches. This availability, the breadth and depth of the range would not be possible without the partner program. For the first time, brands that have not previously worked with us in promotional business are now available on limango.de through partners. Since the price sovereignty on the marketplace lies with the partner, partners now also offer current seasonal goods at market prices that we were previously only able to offer our customers with a very long delay or not at all.
The great thing for partners is that they can also offer their items in the limango promotions area. Our partners benefit from an advertisement for the brand or the topic area in the newsletter, which is sent to around 2 million customers every day. These promotions can, for example, mirror the partners' sales in their own shop and thus speed up sales. Thanks to the automated processes and interfaces in the marketplace model, brickfox partners can update prices very quickly and, for example, take part in a promotion the day after tomorrow. Many partners also use the closed area to put together special limango offers, which of course are particularly well received by our customers.
How has the limango marketplace developed and what advantages do brickfox partners have when they become dealers on limango.de?
Martin Oppenrieder: The constantly growing marketplace model means that the product range on limango.de is continuously being expanded - there are currently around 250 partners available via various interfaces and more than 220.000 of them are live on limango.de. The marketplace business is the growth driver when it comes to offering our customers a broad, deep and innovative range. For our partners, limango clearly has two main advantages:
(1) The target group family – No other platform in Germany represents this target group like we do. One in five families in Germany has already bought from us. If a partner wants to reach the family target group with their products – whether it is fashion, shoes for children and adults, toys or decorative items for the home – then limango should be the first choice for a connection.
(2) The partnership – We are a closed, curated marketplace and select our partners and product range very carefully. We work with partners who offer items that are relevant to our target group and that our customers ask us for. We are interested in a collaborative partnership that is designed for long-term and steady development. All of our partners greatly value this cooperation on equal terms and the close, cooperative relationship.
How does onboarding work at limango?
Lennard Kressin: Interested parties can either contact brickfox or our partner management directly. We evaluate with each partner individually in advance how they see the potential on limango. It is important to us that both sides know what to expect from the partnership. Each partner also gets their own partner manager who, together with the partner, takes over all communication and coordination, from contract negotiations to product range design and subsequent support in live operation. This enables continuity and a real partnership on equal terms. The technical integration of the partner is coordinated between brickfox, an integration manager on the limango side and the partner to ensure rapid integration.
In recent months, limango has significantly increased the capacity of its partner integration team and revised the processes for onboarding new partners.
Why is the connection to brickfox a central building block for limango with a view to further growth?
Lennard Kressin: Automated and scalable processes are essential for the further growth of the marketplace. With brickfox, we now have another type of connection in our portfolio to quickly bring numerous partners onto the limango platform.
What are the basic requirements to become a dealer on limango and who should apply?
Lennard Kressin: The basic requirements for participation in the marketplace program are basically the same as for any marketplace - the partners should be able to handle direct end customer shipping and returns either themselves or through a service provider. The parcel service provider used for this is not prescribed when selling on limango.de and can be freely chosen. Anyone who wants to successfully market and sell their product range to the family target group should get in touch.
If interested, dealers and marken to brickfox (info@brickfox.de) or to the limango marketplace team (marketplace@limango.de) turn around.