Customer stories:
Smock London
Artisan fashion brand, Smock London, is on a mission to modernise the art of smocking for 21 st century women and girls. We spoke to Laura Burch, co-founder of the company, about how a SAMOS shipping partnership has helped her retain and grow business in Europe.
Everyone would use SAMOS if they knew about it.
The hand smocked clothing collections designed by Smock London have garnered a global following. All pieces are designed in London using the finest threads and fabrics and made by artisans in very limited numbers. Women all over the world are drawn to the timeless pieces that are created using traditional techniques. Their hand smocked pieces are heirlooms, designed to last generations.
Europe is one of Smock London’s largest markets, however, shipping there hasn’t always been straightforward, as Laura explained:
“We launched in 2019, after Brexit. I think even though we all knew about Brexit, a lot of customers were quite surprised when they were charged duties and taxes when their purchases arrived from the UK. We tried to make the charges very clear, but understandably, some customers were quite unhappy about the large bills they were left with. We found we had a very limited market in Europe because many customers didn’t want to pay these fees.”
One way around paying doorstep fees is to have an IOSS number. This is a unique identifier that enables businesses to pay VAT on goods to the EU. Although many large companies now use this system to simplify the process, the fees associated with having an IOSS number can be a lot for a small to medium sized e commerce business to absorb.
Smock London faced a shipping dilemma. There was a clear market for their product in Europe but getting the goods to customers was becoming too costly. It was simply unsustainable.
At one point we were looking at employing a delivery company that could help us ship to the EU, but they wanted to charge large fees and take over all the shipping for our customers worldwide. Partnering with them would have improved our situation with shipping into Europe, but it would have come at a big cost.
Using an IOSS number for shipping in to Europe is not mandatory. At SAMOS, our one-hub shipping system means that we can ship and clear parcels into the EU with or without an IOSS number, and we ensure that no customer is charged on delivery. Laura discovered this when she came across a SAMOS video online explaining IOSS and realised she may have found a solution to her EU shipping conundrum.
Smock London got in touch and within days, they had created a shipping account for their EU business with SAMOS. The system was synced to their fulfilment software – ShipStation – and they were good to go.
It was so easy to set up an account. The whole process is really simple. There’s no sign-up fee. No monthly fee. It’s just a case of you send what you pay for.
Today, Smock London is shipping regularly to EU customers which, along with the US, is one of their most profitable markets. Improving their shipping process was the first step to enhancing their shopping experience and securing repeat business. Now, Laura has gone one step further and established a SAMOS returns service to ensure all customers can return their goods, hassle-free, at an affordable cost to the business. Laura concludes
I haven’t found anybody else offering a service like SAMOS. Maybe someone is somewhere, but I haven’t come across them. Everyone has this problem shipping into Europe. Everyone would use SAMOS if they knew about it.
“Customers are much happier and more prepared to buy again. Our repeat purchase rates have gone up. People are much happier to buy if they know the final price they’re going to be paying, as opposed to not knowing what they’re going to be charged in fees. delivery rates are so much higher. I only wish we’d known about them sooner.”
If you would like to ensure reliable and cost effective shipping to the EU and beyond, get in touch with SAMOS