The story of Rinkit and how they have built their own brands over the years. Presented by Richard Goss from Rinkit.

1. 1 https://www.rinkit.com
Key Lessons
02 Our jouney to growth
Unlocking potenital
03 The advantages of automation
About Rinkit
01 Our brands and methodlogy
Rinkit‘s e-commerce story
How automation helped us grow
Richard Goss – Commercial Director

2. 2 https://www.rinkit.com Rinkit directors
• Founded Rinkit.com in 2008 (solo from a
spare bedroom and a conservatory)
• Background in retail sales, B2B sales and
recruitment
• In charge of purchasing, pricing and
profitability
Richard Goss
• Joined to create a two-man band in very
early days - 2009
• Education and background in Law, vehicle
imports and conformity
• In charge of operations, legal and
purchasing to an increasing degree
Rob Lowe
• Joined Rinkit in 2011 to bring new suppliers
on board and explore new platforms
• Background in aviation (yes, he is allowed
to fly jumbos) hospitality and car sales
• Manages all marketplaces, listing quality,
photography and Linnworks.
Elliot Millias
Commercial Director Managing Director Marketplace Director

3. 3 https://www.rinkit.com Management team
Amy Simpkins
Purchasing Manager
Christopher Perry
Website and Marketing Manger
Sean Parker
Finanical Controller
James Clark
Operations Manager

4. 4 https://www.rinkit.com How we started
Pay cuts and no perks
02 Who needs job security?
Our first customer
03 We sold our first product!
The full time dream
01 Stuck in the rat race.
Large American company, health insurance,
six weeks holiday, dental care – the full
package
Full time, 9am – 5pm
Of course I really wanted to work seven days
a week, never stop thinking about work and
bubble wrap martini glasses in a cold
warehouse.
#bubblewrapboys
I bought £200 worth of barware from a
company in Birmingham and the first
customer was in March 2008 for a Boston
Cocktail Shaker on eBay
Shaken not stired

5. 5 https://www.rinkit.com Turning ideas into reality
• When Rob joined we grew by building new partnerships with UK
wholesalers in different industries: catering, automotive, tools, furniture,
gifts and novelty goods. 44,000 listings on amazon.
• But we realised to thrive and succeed against a growing tide of people
doing the same just in time or drop shop business, we needed to
change and do things smaller companies couldnt do.
• We needed to transform the business from a UK retailer into an import
retailer and brand owner. So we got on a plane to China in 2011 and
started creating Rinkit brands.
Stop surviving and start thriving
www.rinkit.com

6. 6 https://www.rinkit.com Our Brands
• Glassware
• Crockery
• Home decorations
• Photo frames
• Utility products
• Garden products
• Childrens Cutlery
• Kids tableware
• Mens gifts
• Newest brand
• Cocktail glasses
• Bareware

7. 7 https://www.rinkit.com The automation nightmare
• In January 2016 we realised that we had to change to become
scalable. The days of uploading and downloading csv files being
a credible solution were gone! We were selling on multipule
platforms and dealing with so many couriers that is was not
going to work in the long term.
• The business relied on the specific knowledge of four people
and and without their knowledge Rinkit wouldn‘t be able to
function. Their knowledge of how each product was packed and
sent needed to be on a system.
Why did we need to automate?
When you have too many orders its the business owners that
are in at 5am printing thermo labels on a zebra printer and
stapling them to order paper work

8. 8 https://www.rinkit.com Our automation journey
Orders needed to be all in one place. We
needed to stop referring to orders as an
Amazon order or eBay order – they were
Rinkit orders. Where they came from wasnt
the most important piece of information.
Orders
We needed to stop messing around with a different system
for each courier - counting this and weighing that.
Needed buying power – the power to change courier
Couriers
Customer Services needed to
be under one roof and be
accessible remotely.
Customer Contact
Printing
Paperless?
Good idea but when every box
needs a label!
Printing in multiple sites
Stock
Oh my god – we have over sold
We have all had one of those days!
Availablity automation.
01 02 03 04 05

9. 9 https://www.rinkit.com Our top tips
01 Automate 02 Create brands 03 Sell everywhere 04 Recruit Smart People
Find people that are
better/smarter than you at
something. Don't just employ
people to do the work you don't
want to do. They need to scare
the hell out of you!
Build a website, sell
internationally, and on Groupon.
I‘m a die hard fan of Amazon
Prime; some people are not!
Don‘t win the buy box, OWN IT!
If you can‘t create brands, sell a
product other people cannot sell.
Customized products etc.
Automate as early as possible
and its harder the longer you
leave it. We used Charlie
McBroom – worth his weight in
gold.

10. Thank you for listening
Any questions?