Ray

Since threads are dead, here is my first official long form tweet. A lot has changed in the Amazon Aggregator space since Covid and sadly, there is a lot of bad information out there! I have the distinct privilege of holding regular calls with some of the top aggregators in the space and now I get to share with you what they are looking for! If you nail the following things, you will be light years ahead of other Amazon sellers. 1) 100% FBA is DOA now Yes, you read that right. If you are 100% FBA by revenue, you just lost the entire market. Buyers are no longer interested in Amazon only brands. Not only does it present massive risk to them, but they don’t want to be the ones to build out secondary channels like Walmart and Shopify. The expectation is that you are selling on multiple platforms prior to an exit. 2) Lay off the home runs Now, this may come across as counterintuitive, but it makes a lot of practical sense for an aggregator. If most of your revenue comes from one hero product, that has inherent risk that aggregators are “allergic” to. They want to see your revenue spread out evenly across a diverse product catalog. Think 25+ unique products with each sharing revenue percentage. 3) Intellectual Property is King! For years, buyers of Amazon businesses didn’t really care about intellectual property protection like design patents but that has all changed. This is especially true if you are selling unique designs that do well online. Aggregators want to buy an asset with protection. The threat of Chinese sellers copying you is very real and they understand the power of design patents now. If you don’t have any IP, expect aggregators to hit the pause button when looking at your brand. 4) Branding is everything Look, aggregators don't like reinventing the wheel. They're not looking for a fully build out brand, but they want the general framework there already. Aggregators like brands that already have a robust email list, strong social media presence, and Amazon story. They simply have goals to take it to the next level. 5) Consistent growth They want to see an upward trajectory and nothing else. If your most recent 6 months of sales history is flat or negative, don’t even think about listing your brand for sale. The only way brand owners are hitting the 4x+ multiples now are if the last 24 months have impeccable financials. To be frank, I would be the same. Who wants to buy a business with sketchy sales history? Consistent growth tells an aggregator that you have successfully fought off Chinese sellers and continued to launch new products during a rough economy. That’s a wrap! Since Twitter threads are dead and this is my first long form tweet ever, I would appreciate a like and retweet to spread the word!