How Planet54 is easing entrepreneurs' entrance into e-commerce

Innocentia Manaka and Laila Manjoo inspect sample fashion items available online on Planet54.com.

“Customers who regularly spend R5,000 or more in a single purchase may apply to participate in the Planet54 E-Retailer Entrepreneurship Programme and following a basic vetting process may be recognised as an official Planet54 e-retailer. We currently have 300 recognised e-retailers including buyers from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. We remain in constant contact with these small business owners and are extremely encouraged by reports of up to 100 % growth in their turnover, month-on-month,” said Planet54 director, Shahil Maharaj.

Supporting bulk buyers

“We support these bulk buyers by prioritising their deliveries and providing them with white-labelled packaging and invoicing, distributing directly to their customer base on their behalf, saving them the costs of secondary delivery. We are currently in the process of developing an exclusive range of products that will only be available to recognised Planet54 e-retailers,” added Maharaj.

According to global market researcher Statista, an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide purchased goods online in 2018. During the same year, global e-retail sales amounted to $2.8tn, with projected growth of up to $4.8trn by 2021. Through the E-Retailer Entrepreneurship Programme, Planet54.com is presenting entrepreneurs with an opportunity to enter the e-commerce market with no need for inventory or warehousing and no administration and overhead costs.

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Since launching in South Africa in 2016, Planet54.com’s fast-fashion, virtual shopping mall has grown by 300% year-on-year to become the largest Shopify e-commerce platform in Africa. It offers more than 10,000 product types, showcasing clothing, footwear, fashion accessories and tech products.

“Planet54’s vertical business model – which includes local manufacturing, quality imports, local warehousing and in-house distribution – allows us to keep our pricing on high-quality merchandise competitively low, allowing reseller enterprises the flexibility to add a lucrative mark-up and create sustainable small businesses for themselves. We don’t place any restrictions on quantities and allow shoppers the liberty to shop according to their budget and style, while stocks last.

"Affordable pricing coupled with efficient distribution have unlocked the door to hundreds of new smaller enterprises. The products you see online are all available in our warehouses and we can deliver anywhere in the country within an average of three to five days,” says Planet54 managing director, MI Jeewa.

The Planet54.com product ranges are curated 12 months in advance, with buyers monitoring the world’s fashion runways and attending fashion trade shows to stay on top of global fashion trends.