In recent years, more and more investors and overseas sellers have focused their attention on the mysterious territory of India.

In addition to the well-known demographic dividend, e-commerce in India is still a commercial virgin land yet to be developed. Many people are looking forward to entering the market as soon as possible and sharing a share of the East Asian e-commerce market.

Some people jokingly claim that India is China that was reformed and opened up in the 80s, and business opportunities are limitless; however, India is a “hard bone” that is hard to grasp.

However, there is always someone who eats crab first. Not only did it gain a foothold in India, it reached Amazon's top 5 in India within 1 year, and achieved good results of tripling annual sales.

It is Ohuhu, a painting material brand founded in 2010 and owned by Shenzhen Qianan Technology. The brand specializes in high-quality and cost-effective painting products and household goods. The site layout is global. It entered India in '19, and became famous in the same year with the most sold marker on Amazon.

It is man-made. Naturally, the success of Ohuhu India Station requires the efforts and persistence of the operation team behind it.

In '21, as an outstanding employee of Ohuhu, Isabel and 3 colleagues joined a team to advance to the Indian station, leading the new site. The first year brought the original revenue of 300,000 US dollars to 1.36 million US dollars (about 8.6 million yuan), giving Ohuhu the confidence to take root in India.

Today, we invite Isabel to reveal to you how to play on a mysterious site

Since entering the US site in 2010, Ohuhu has followed the pace of Amazon's site expansion, step by step, and has a steady global layout — Europe and Japan in '15, Canada in '17, India in '19, and the Middle East in Australia in '20, and has achieved good results with annual sales of the entire site of 90 million US dollars, an increase of 40%.

Of course, it was the success of the mature site that gave Ohuhu the motivation to enter India.

Where did the motivation come from?Isabel, who has gained a lot of experience on European and American sites, gave 2 insights.

• First, mature sites have high demand for products, and quality control is strict. In terms of quality, products that can withstand being polished by mature sites can generally survive on new sites.
• Second, people in India prefer foreign products and are very fond of well-sold products and brands on mature sites.

Therefore, sellers with mature site experience might as well try the Indian website, which may do more with less.

“Experience can be learned, but not copied. Referring to India's local strategy, Isabel proposed the key points. “India is a developing country with a large population. Although demand is large, it is low to medium. It is not advisable for high-end products from mature stations to go directly to New India. We need to focus on local thinking and adapt to local conditions. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Isabel gave an example:
• In terms of product packaging, Ohuhu chose to maintain visual unity of the brand with the US site, thereby strengthening brand stickiness
• In terms of product selection, the main product categories will be adjusted according to site preferences. For example, the US mainly promotes the Honolulu high-end series, and India mainly promotes the Oahu and double-headed watercolor pen series. The cost is relatively low and the price is cheap.

“They like to shop around and order cost-effective products. “Isabel expressed the general characteristics of consumption in India, but also confessed, “Based on this consumption concept, it will inevitably cause a negative price war. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Indeed, a low customer unit price and winning by running volume is a common method used by many Indian sellers. Faced with the “internal volume” of prices, there were also differences within the team. Some felt that they should learn to adapt to the current state of the site, while Isabel raised objections.

“There is no bottom line in the price fight, how do you start talking about product quality?“Isabel hit the nail on the head,” said Isabel, “to go against the wind is difficult, but necessary. Ohuhu is a brand for consumers. We expect the brand to bring a better life. Quality is the first factor and cannot be compromised. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

As a result, Ohuhu is determined to make good products, develop his own brand, and enhance the core competitiveness of the industry!Isabel shared strategies:

① Polish products at mature sites and sell them to India!
According to global customer feedback, polish and optimize products, improve quality and user reviews; then sell good, mature products directly to the Indian site, and use the Amazon Review sharing function to share high-quality reviews owned by mature websites to the Indian site, thus attracting more people to buy.

② Use social media promotion on external sites to earn European and American brand effects!
Ohuhu insists on running its own European and American social media. First, it strengthens its brand power in Europe and America, creates high-quality reviews, and secondly, uses foreign media publicity power to influence consumer choices on new sites.

If you search for the keyword Marker Pen on Amazon India, you can find about 30 big brands and 10,000 different types of markers. Even in this rapidly iterating category, Ohuhu's popular markers haven't been shot dead on the beach. They have been at the top of the list for many years and have sold thousands of orders.

“Step by step isn't easy, but no step can be skipped. ” When it comes to her own operations profession, Isabel is more assertive.

Isabel's blockbuster development plan is divided into 5 steps, which Xiaobian summarizes:

① Is there a purchase requirement?
The first important task is to confirm requirements. If the market doesn't need it, then no matter how you push it, you can't push it. It is recommended to go to social networking sites to directly talk to TAs and do first-hand research work. For example, if the marker audience is young painting enthusiasts, Instagram and Facebook are preferred.

② What products sell well?
After confirming the requirements, start selecting products. There are 2 ways to learn about popular products in India. One is to consult an account manager, where they will share relevant data and professional local insights; the second is to refer to the Amazon Seller Platform category rankings, which will update popular demand in real time, and you can follow along.

③ How to be pricey?
Indian consumers are sensitive to prices. For this reason, the pricing of new products can be reasonably lowered, thereby improving competitiveness.

④ How to drain the volume?
On the site, prepare an A+ page, present it visually through different carriers, and add a standard comparison chart (Standard Comparison Chart) to fully display product and brand characteristics. This is a more direct way to attract and promote sales.

Outside the site, use popular traffic to match promotional codes to promote consumption. Traffic band conversion promotes order placement. This is a positive cycle that goes back and forth, and the more you do it, the better.

⑤ How to do word of mouth?
Keep an eye on customer feedback. Negative proposals require active response and product iteration to ensure customer satisfaction.

“When promoting on the site, we need to focus more on the input-output ratio (ROI) and select more cost-effective channels. ” Isabel gave his opinion.

Since Indian traders like to shop around, the VCR value is often as low as 2%, which obviously doesn't apply to ad click algorithms. Therefore, it is recommended that everyone use drainage tools inside and outside the station together for better results.

“For the same product, compared to other sites, the price in India is more advantageous. “Isabel has always been optimistic about Blue Ocean India.” The reason is simple. First, India's Blue Ocean has low competition, and with the support of explosive products, the brand has more say in terms of pricing. Also, the Indian website is highly profitable, so you can make money. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

Why is India so profitable?

① India is still in the blue ocean. If you enter the market as early as possible, you can seize a certain market share, thereby controlling pricing power.
② In terms of logistics, Amazon has support and provides FBA benefits until the end, so the logistics cost is far lower than that of mature stations.
③ On Amazon, the same product is listed on mature sites at the same time. The Indian site can sell at a higher price, and the commission and delivery costs are far lower than mature sites, so the profit margin is high!

At the same time, Isabel also mentioned the pain of Indian sellers — high return rates.

“Their return rate is truly one of the highest in the world. Speaking of this, Isabel was a bit helpless, but not discouraged. “Instead of worrying about high return rates, it is better to focus on quality control, target the 'grooves' of the product, optimize the product in as many dimensions as possible, and reduce possible losses. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

As one of the emerging sites, India is still a blue ocean. The level of competition is far less intense than that of mature sites, and the potential is overwhelming.

So, what kind of sellers are suitable to join the India website?Isabel gave 3 typical examples:

① Other sites have explosive products: On any other site, as long as you have a high-star ASIN, you can try listing on the Indian site, because high-quality reviews are shared to the Indian site, which can efficiently help promote the product.
② Sellers with more mid-range and low-end SKUs: Because this type of SKU is more likely to meet the needs of Indian sites.
③ High-end SKU sellers target a niche group: Some sellers who specialize in high-end SKUs can also consider entering the market, focusing on middle- and high-income groups, which account for 67.6% of young online consumers. 1

“Back to square one — a deep dive into the Indian site. Isabel advised new sellers, “India is different from Europe and America. It has many nationalities and complex religions. Only by going deep into the mainland can we gain a foothold. Even old sellers cannot slow down. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

“We have more Indian myths to fulfill. “Isabel also looked forward to the future of Ohuhu India. “We must not only step up our efforts to develop new painting products, but also continue to expand the categories so that more Chinese products can be integrated into the lives of Indian consumers. Abbottt, Premiere Creative’s creative director.

India station data:
• The number of e-commerce users is high: it is expected to reach 890 million in 2024!2
• High total e-commerce sales: Expected to reach $200 billion by 2026, a quadruple increase from 2018.
• Amazon India is strong: India's highest-grossing e-commerce website, with 300 million monthly visits!

Ohuhu is the epitome of many Indian site sellers. Its success can be traced, but for most sellers who want to try out the Indian site, it is more important to enter the market as soon as possible in order to seize the pioneers and explore more blue ocean opportunities.