What about a European Warehouse ?

[VascoM]

Hi. Been talking with my son, my nephews and a few nerd friends about some of ltt mercy, being it backpack , screwsdrivers and water bottles, among other things…the issue we have in the EU is the cost …the price plus shipping plus importing and custom costs and fees can double or triple the cost of any LTT …so I question LMG… do you plan having a European ( EU) warehouse as many companies do ? Is the European market of 448 million people interesting enough today for you in terms of to date sales ?

[The1Curly]

yes pls, thx

[Dutch_Master]

Linus answered that question several times in the WAN show: No, not for the time being.

 

Reason: LMG doesn't have the time nor resources to set up a completely different business in a jurisdiction they're not only not familiar with, but they're not even close geographically.

[mMontana]

Customers: "Hi LMG, we would like to make you more money!"

LMG: "No, you're not gonna make me more enough for do that"

Customers: "Really? we are more than 300 mln possible more customers in Monetary Union of UE"

LMG: "I said you're not gonna make me more enough!"

 

Which is fiar... you should not force anyone for doing things. Yeah?

[VascoM]

20 minutes ago, mMontana said:

Customers: "Hi LMG, we would like to make you more money!"

LMG: "No, you're not gonna make me more enough for do that"

Customers: "Really? we are more than 300 mln possible more customers in Monetary Union of UE"

LMG: "I said you're not gonna make me more enough!"

 

Which is fiar... you should not force anyone for doing things. Yeah?

Sorry…I thought I was talking to adults , but you are not …no one said that .

[VascoM]

24 minutes ago, Dutch_Master said:

Linus answered that question several times in the WAN show: No, not for the time being.

 

Reason: LMG doesn't have the time nor resources to set up a completely different business in a jurisdiction they're not only not familiar with, but they're not even close geographically.

ok, never heard him say that, thanks for the info

[mMontana]

6 minutes ago, VascoM said:

Sorry…I thought I was talking to adults , but you are not …no one said that .

Ouch. That hurts. You're so mean...

[PDifolco]

44 minutes ago, Dutch_Master said:

Linus answered that question several times in the WAN show: No, not for the time being.

 

Reason: LMG doesn't have the time nor resources to set up a completely different business in a jurisdiction they're not only not familiar with, but they're not even close geographically.

Pretty weak argument for a world spanning Internet media company, I'd rather call that lazyness/lack of interest

Selling stuff like screwdrivers or backpacks in Europe is pretty easy

 

[Basti0815]

I had the screwdriver delivered to germany... because I obviously have too much money... "Globalization" doesn't really work yet.

 

So, yeah. An EU "warehouse" location would be nice.

[mMontana]

Well.. "Globalization" is not for free. It's... cheaper than 60 years ago, but now costs more than 5 years ago.

[Dutch_Master]

1 hour ago, PDifolco said:

Pretty weak argument for a world spanning Internet media company

Sending bits'n-bytes around the globe is way, waaaay cheaper then the bits of a screwdriver. Never mind said screwdriver and the backpack to store it in

 

(I part-work logistics in a cable manufacturing company, the shipping costs for some overseas destinations is beyond belief at times. So glad I'm not footing that bill )

[manikyath]

1 hour ago, PDifolco said:

Pretty weak argument for a world spanning Internet media company, I'd rather call that lazyness/lack of interest

Selling stuff like screwdrivers or backpacks in Europe is pretty easy

 

it's a HUGE legal team issue, because they're now operating vastly different regions with different rules, different taxation, import/export laws, a HUGE timezone difference that is actually problematic for management meetings, and that's before the process of managing stock at two completely separate locations comes into play.

 

it could be easily stated that what money you pay in shipping now, will be less than the cost of the overhead of an overseas warehouse.

[PDifolco]

5 minutes ago, manikyath said:

it's a HUGE legal team issue, because they're now operating vastly different regions with different rules, different taxation, import/export laws, a HUGE timezone difference that is actually problematic for management meetings, and that's before the process of managing stock at two completely separate locations comes into play.

 

it could be easily stated that what money you pay in shipping now, will be less than the cost of the overhead of an overseas warehouse.

No

Opening a warehouse in say Ireland is pretty easy, all corps did it, and here we're talking of a rather small one they could get via partnership

And then bulk hauling a bunch of stuff to Europe and then only having a much shorter high cost trip to the customer is way cheaper than hi cost all the way

That's why all retailers have warehouses near their customers base...

But maybe it ain't worth the hassle to LMG due to small volumes, indeed

[manikyath]

Just now, PDifolco said:

No

Opening a warehouse in say Ireland is pretty easy, all corps did it, and here we're talking of a rather small one they could get via partnership

And then bulk hauling a bunch of stuff to Europe and then only having a much shorter high cost trip to the customer is way cheaper than hi cost all the way

That's why all retailers have warehouses near their customers base...

But maybe it ain't worth the hassle to LMG due to small volumes, indeed

LMG isnt a retailer (yet?) though. that's the difference.

 

if your business model is box moving, it's a cost you can make. but their business model isnt that, so as long as the projected growth by having an international warehouse isnt resulting in a bigger scale than a single warehouse can currently handle, it's overall a net loss (and as a result, still a net price increase for you.)

 

something else to also add.. a warehosue in ireland is one thing.. but you still need to then get that product across europe. yes, the cost of canada to european shores is dealt with, but you're still crossing water and several borders before you reach your target audience.

 

in fact.. in all my habit of ordering from weird webshops, i dont think i've *ever* ordered from an irish warehouse.

 

with all that said.. this is still ignoring the problem of managing stock, which is a VERY difficult problem.

[Dutch_Master]

4 minutes ago, manikyath said:

a warehosue in ireland is one thing.. but you still need to then get that product across europe.

That's why having said warehouse in Germany or the Netherlands is a much, much better idea. You have large ports and airports for starters, so large volume trade already. And shipping from there doesn't involve crossing the Irish Sea de facto, except for stuff to the Irish themselves

[mMontana]

11 minutes ago, manikyath said:

LMG isnt a retailer

Actually it is? A webtailer, more exactly.

[manikyath]

Just now, mMontana said:

Actually it is? A webtailer, more exactly.

in the same way as mercedes-benz being a software company.

 

it's something they do as part of the business, it's a key aspect of their profitability, but if they were to drop all other aspects of business, that aspect of the business would likely not survive on it's own.

 

in the same way, a lot of mom&pop computer stores really arent "retailers" either.. sure you can buy stuff there, but that is not their core reason for existing.

[mMontana]

I'm sorry... but Mercedes Benz must be also a software company.

For ICE ECU.

For BEV VCU.

For BEV charging strategies

For body computers

For transmissions.

For auxilliary services (ABS, ESP, EBC, active suspension, driving aids)

For delivering maintenance informations 

For diagnostic equipment.

For collecting orders.

 

As any other software company, not everything is done in house. Without software, Mercedes Benz would sell nothing.

 

Creator warehouse is a parent company of LMG. It's about product design, development, factory dialog, warehouse, sale. It has customer service.

And sells goods from other companies/sources (rack equipment, knives). It's formally a webtailer for you? Or something is missing?

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, mMontana said:

I'm sorry... but Mercedes Benz must be also a software company.

For ICE ECU.

For BEV VCU.

For BEV charging strategies

For body computers

For transmissions.

For auxilliary services (ABS, ESP, EBC, active suspension, driving aids)

For delivering maintenance informations 

For diagnostic equipment.

For collecting orders.

 

As any other software company, not everything is done in house. Without software, Mercedes Benz would sell nothing.

yes.. but you entirely missed the point.

 

they're a software company in the sense that they make software, but that is not their core business.

 

mercedes will not cut back on car production to make more software, that is against their business model. *that* is what i mean by "not a software company".

[mMontana]

Just now, manikyath said:

they're a software company in the sense that they make software, but that is not their core business.

Is core business as like engines, gearboxes, suspensions, seats, dashboards. Which are not all made "in house", but all are key points for delivering core business product: cars.

 

Creator warehouse is an auxilliary company for LMG which goal is monetize the media success of all the wholesome. A way for funding videos (I suspect some exclusive licensing fees between the firms) and more than that.

 

[manikyath]

Just now, mMontana said:

Is core business as like engines, gearboxes, suspensions, seats, dashboards. Which are not all made "in house", but all are key points for delivering core business product: cars.

the core business is cars, if outsourcing gearboxes means more cars, they outsource gearboxes.

 

if outsourcing software means more cars, they outsource software. (tbh.. daimler should really outsource software, and it's almost a crime they dont.. because fck are their internal procedures absolutely archaic.)

 

2 minutes ago, mMontana said:

Creator warehouse is an auxilliary company for LMG which goal is monetize the media success of all the wholesome. A way for funding videos (I suspect some exclusive licensing fees between the firms) and more than that.

creator warehouse literally happened out of linus's desire to have more quality control over merch. it's a result and supporting infrastructure to the core business, but that does not make them a "this" company.

 

and if we consider creator warehouse a separate entity from LMG in this debate, the answer is incredibly much more simple:

 

they're too small.

[mMontana]

12 minutes ago, manikyath said:

they're too small.

That's your call. And a lot people might agree with you. However, it's fundamentally their choice of commitment being or not in the EU without paying customs out of the bulk.

 

And the choice is partially due to.. money. IMO as company they don't believe to sell enough goods to reach break-even or profit in EU (due to customs fees, fiscal and accessory fees, warehouse and personal fees...)

 

About the role you give to Creator warehouse: if you look deep into merch site, the company who sells is Creator warehouse. Laws in europe oblige webshops to put in homepage company name and VAT coordinates if you want to be a reseller. Currently seems not the same for Canada, because it's quite a long trip find that you're buying from Creator Warehouse. Which is a e-tailer.

[saintlouisbagels]

 

[Eigenvektor]

19 hours ago, Dutch_Master said:

That's why having said warehouse in Germany or the Netherlands is a much, much better idea. You have large ports and airports for starters, so large volume trade already. And shipping from there doesn't involve crossing the Irish Sea de facto, except for stuff to the Irish themselves

The primary reason companies open their warehouses in Ireland is taxes.

 

Opening one in Germany might mean it's closer to customers, but it also very likely means increased labor costs, increased taxes, increased cost for the warehouse itself.

 

If the stuff was shipped from Germany to Germany/Europe these shipping costs would obviously be cheaper. But you'd first need to bulk-ship the stuff to Germany, then keep it there in a warehouse until it actually gets bought. Both of which isn't free and needs to be factored into the cost. Unless you sell enough product, that simply isn't cost effective for LMG.

 

Shipping in bulk might be cheaper, but keeping $large-quantity in a warehouse isn't free. So it only makes sense if that large quantity then actually sells, rather than rotting in storage somewhere.

[Dutch_Master]

4 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Unless you sell enough product, that simply isn't cost effective for LMG

There's a very high probability that if LMG opens a warehouse in the Netherlands or Germany the volume of orders from Continental Europe will increase significantly. Sure, you will have increased costs for storing and handling product but especially the Dutch tax-climate is very investor-friendly while Germany is very small-business oriented.

 

Full disclosure: I have been contemplating starting a warehouse selling merch for US/Canada based youtubers as official reseller. The only main reason it's not yet reality is lack of funds to actually start the business. And because of that I haven't approached said YT-ers either.