eCommerce success: The estory of Polarbox
Miguel Nicolás
11/08/2021
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Sometimes, an everyday product can revolutionize itself and go beyond. Today, we are going to tell you the story of Polarbox and its vintage-style coolers.
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We know: Polarbox´s story is hard to believe. Laptops? A guy from Lepe? Global shipping? Well, yes. It is not a joke: it is just as you hear it.We are going to develop it below, but one of the most important insights is just the one we have just mentioned: a very established product with hardly any variations in decades, a basic product such as portable coolers for camping or beach, can have a remarkable growth margin if we are able to find the right twist and understand the user.
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Polisur: the company behind the brand
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The first thing to note is that we are not dealing with a single reference manufacturer. José Luis Fernández is an entrepreneur who has not exactly just arrived on the market. At the age of 62 , he has learned the best - and perhaps the hardest - way, which is by working.Actually, he learned before launching his own business from his parents' background. They were not particularly successful, but failure is part of learning, and knowing the importance of effort is also closely related to entrepreneurship.In 1984 Polisur, José Luis' company, took shape and did so with a raw material that has a lot to do with this latest launch of portable coolers. It was a business that used expanded polystyrene to make all kinds of packaging for refrigerated products (boxes for fish, ice cream...) and other industrial uses, such as the classic protections for packaging of electronic equipment or household appliances.
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INSIGHT: When you know a market very well, you have that base that allows you to diversify and scale the business in other directions.
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A standard product, isn't it?
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Think of a beach cooler, how do you imagine it? Almost certainly the classic rigid plastic one in an impersonal color (blue and white, for example).We are talking about a product whose main feature is functionality, far above aesthetics. But the fact that this has been the case up to now does not imply that it has to be so forever, or that there is not an audience looking for something different within this niche.This is what José Luis thought. And that is why he redefined beach coolers with a retro design - his products take us back to the 1950s on any beach in California - and the usual colors gave way to other pastel tones much more in line with the vintage style on which the businessman was betting.
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INSIGHT: Do not assume that something that works cannot do better. Any product is susceptible to adapt to a new group of consumers or fit better with the current one.With these changes, these coolers go from being a classic but unexciting beach or picnic accessory to an aspirational, cool object that looks great on our Instagram.
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A perfect product
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Why has Polarbox sold half a million coolers in less than 2 years? Basically because they have hit the key in different aspects.
- Breakthrough design and adapted to a new segmentation.
- Customization, since we can play with different interchangeable handles to create our perfect combination.
- Fantastic value for money, since they do not reach 40 euros and perfectly fulfill their mission.
- Great communication and distribution strategy, which we will talk about next.
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Distribution and sales channels
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We pointed out in the introduction that this is not a typical eCommerce success story. Polarbox has made a strong impact in the digital channel, it is true, but it has also done so in retail.The company's coolers can be found in all kinds of chains and physical establishments, from El Corte Inglés to Carrefour.In the digital channel, they have also opted for a hybrid strategy, which complements their own eCommerce with sales through different multi-brand sites and Amazon-style marketplaces.
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INSIGHT: Being manufacturers has allowed them to establish commercial relationships with all these channels, and they have done so without exclusivity, so that they can continue to exploit their brand.
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Influencer marketing
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Much of its strategy has been based on the support of influencers and micro influencers, who have put its coolers on the trend radar.It is a product that seems designed to be published on Instagram or Pinterest, so it makes sense to turn to people with prescription capacity and a certain community behind them in these networks.
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We can say that the bet has worked wonders for them: in a matter of months their products have gained enormous visibility.
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Keys to Polarbox´s success
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- Production capacity: having the entire process verticalized allows them to be competitive in costs and to have an important distribution network.
- Internationalization: what is the best way to break seasonality in a product so closely associated with it? To look for other parallel and alternative markets. Polarbox is sold in more than 30 countries.
- Adaptability: the best example of this is that, with a product launched at the beginning of the pandemic, they have been able to grow exponentially. And they had to adapt and dedicate their industrial resources to manufacturing other products, such as screens and elements for sanitary safety suits or PPE.
- Successful marketing strategy: they have invested on exactly what brings them a positive return and the visibility they are looking for.
- Customization: it is a good attraction for those who are sensitive to exclusivity, but also a way to increase average ticket or recurrence by including strap kits.
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Images | Polarbox.