South African e-commerce startup Allsale Club has launched a service that uses global sourcing to bring more than 500,000 branded goods to users at cheaper prices.
Co-founded by e-commerce veteran Justin Drennan and chief executive officer (CEO) Michelle Lehrer, Allsale combines the experience garnered from two of South Africa’s leading e-commerce players – online shopping website Wantitall, and fulfilment and distribution facility ParcelNinja.
A members-only online shopping business which aims to save consumers money on everything from everyday branded items from batteries, razors, and cleaning products to luxury items such as fashion, fragrances, cosmetics and watches, Allsale hopes to challenge the supply and pricing paradigm of South Africa’s retail sector.
It leverages existing Wantitall and ParcelNinja processes, infrastructure and IT development, translating into a fully functioning supply chain from launch.
“Allsale Club works with suppliers around the world to bring more than 500,000 products to South Africans, many of which are not currently available on local shelves,” said Lehrer.
The members-only approach means the business model is driven by membership fees and not margins, with membership growth and margin deflation being the key success metrics for the business.
“This means we pass great prices on to our members and we have developed internal incentives based on decreasing margins,” said Lehrer.
“We plan to disrupt retail sales in South Africa by using a business model similar to that of Costco, the American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only warehouse clubs around the world. They stand for quality at great prices, and this is what we will deliver to Allsale Club’s members.”
