In just three years, Volero has transformed from a startup with various home furnishings into an international flooring specialist. With a turnover of several tons per month, it is also heading for an attractive location in the Twinkle200. And this is not the only objective. “We hope to reach the milestone of ten million euros this year. The webshop was founded at the beginning of 2016 by Joost van der Goot, at the time as De Woonwinkelier. He observed that only a few rugs were sold online, while the need was probably there. Together with former fellow student and former colleague Erwin Boers, who bought in later that year, the focus was on conquering the Benelux.
‘We missed a lot of opportunities’
Gradually, however, the gentlemen increasingly felt the need to expand the field of work. “Certainly when we noticed through pilots how well our products are working in the various marketplaces, we knew that we were missing opportunities. That’s why the original Dutch name was changed into the more international Volero in April.
And this was not the only reason why they said goodbye to De Woonwinkelier. “The name suggested that we offered a full range of homes, but in fact we mainly sell rugs and matching home accessories. Besides, no one is waiting to take on the (online) battle with players like Ikea and Fonq.”
Volero claims to be the largest rugs webshop in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the gentlemen did not want a company name that would exclude other product groups. Because in terms of percentage, the impact of home accessories may seem small, but ten per cent of a million-dollar turnover is still a nice extra income.
‘With AdResults we dare to scale up more easily’
Joost and Erwin were accustomed to at least doubling their annual orders and turnover. Whether or not they manage to increase the order number from 60,000 to 120,000 this year remains to be seen, of course, but the dip that a name change initially has on the SEO and SEA results seems to be so small that it will be possible to continue growing in the second half of this year.
Together with AdResults, which was called in at the beginning of this year to manage both the name change and the further growth of SEO and SEA, the gentlemen are doing everything in their power to ensure that the results rise to new record highs. “In addition to being a pleasant cooperation partner, the level of knowledge is significantly higher than that of other parties.
Especially since both Joost and Erwin have been in the e-commerce world for some time now and have a lot of marketing experience, it was a requirement for them to be able to spar with a party that really knows what successful campaigns are all about. “With the support of AdResults, we dare to scale up much more easily, allowing us to grow even faster.
Despite the fact that the companies only work together for six months, clear results have already been achieved. For example, the return on Google Ads has already improved significantly in the first month. “January is always a good month for us, because a lot of people then decide to make the house a little more cosy. But this time the results were far above expectations. We had both a turnover record for Google Ads and the webshop in its entirety.”
‘In addition to the fact that AdResults is a pleasant cooperation partner, the level of knowledge is significantly higher than that of other parties.’
‘If you unlock yourself, you can grow much faster’
According to the gentlemen, the fact that AdResults is close to the subject matter and proactively thinks along is an important reason for this. “Of course we keep an eye on the various SEO, SEA and social media campaigns ourselves, but as soon as, for example, we detect that a certain campaign is lagging behind, AdResults is already working on solving it. In fact, in general, they have already solved it before we have even noticed it.”
That the campaigns at AdResults are in good hands is a must for Joost and Erwin. “With our ambitions, it is impossible to continue to do everything ourselves. Moreover, you can only really grow when you unlock yourself. That’s why we decided at an early stage to outsource the entire logistics process, so that we can spend all our time on the webshop.”
This is no superfluous luxury, because every item is photographed in our own studio. “It is time-consuming, but the atmospheric photos (and videos) are an important added value for sales. At the moment Volero still focuses on the middle segment, but this will soon be expanded with the higher segment. Rugs of more than 1500 euro are no exception here.
Within one year showroom launch
Because it is unusual for people to make such expenditures without seeing the products in real life and being able to feel the materials, Joost and Erwin want to open a showroom within a year. About half of the current range consists of their own label Fraai, which is also sold through Bol.com. “Unlike colleagues who don’t have a line of their own, we don’t have to take part in the battle to the bottom. Another advantage is that Volero can have these rugs produced in large numbers and pass on the economies of scale to the customer.
In order to determine which new designs will be included in the range, the gentlemen have the Facebook fans think along with them. “In addition to the fact that our supporters appreciate the fact that we involve them in product development, it also provides us with valuable information. For example, we are able to estimate the ratio in which we have to order the items. And if something doesn’t work, we’ll know it before production.”
According to Volero, the working method ensures that Volero has never released a collection that has failed. “All our processes are aimed at success and rapid growth. We expect to reach our next milestone this year: a turnover of more than ten million euros and a mention in the list of the largest webshops in our country.”
Wondering what AdResults can do for your business? Feel free to contact us for a cup of coffee and a good conversation!
