Amsterdam – 16 June 2021 | Wijnand Jongen (61, photo) joined the advisory board of e-commerce scaleup Dwarfs on June 15th. As founder of the interest group Thuiswinkel.org, Wijnand Jongen has been at the center of the e-commerce world for over 20 years. With his extensive expertise and experience dealing with online stores, logistics and consumers, Jongen is of significant added value in shaping the young company’s ambitious acquisition plans, according to a statement from the Dwarfs board.
The nomination follows Dwarfs’s recent announcement made in May 2021 that the e-commerce scaleup intends to leverage its richly stocked war chest to acquire some 10-20 successful e commerce vendors this year alone, especially those active on the bol.com (LVB) and Amazon (FBA) marketplaces. A total of 50-60 acquisitions are planned within the next three years.
Demian Beenakker, Dwarfs CEO, said in a statement: “Wijnand has been one of the driving forces behind the professionalization of online shopping in the Netherlands and Europe. He’s been very successful at offering consumers a trusted and safe online shopping experience. Wijnand helped
create the legal framework for e-commerce, as well as setting uniform standards and raising the bar for online stores with Thuiswinkel.org’s mark of quality.
As founder of Thuiswinkel.org, Wijnand knows exactly how to show consumers how and where to shop safely, what to pay attention to when making an online purchase, and how to find out whether shipping and returns are organized sustainably, for example. Dwarfs is moving into a market of rapidly growing online vendors on marketplaces. We’ll be at the vanguard of the professionalization of this segment in the coming years, from product innovation to customer care, and Wijnand will be an important guide for us in our effort to consolidate vendors on marketplaces.”
Wijnand Jongen is excited to share his knowledge and expertise with the serial entrepreneurs of Dwarfs. “E-commerce is shifting rapidly from online stores to the marketplaces where tomorrow’s consumers will make most of their purchases. In Europe, we are on the cusp of an explosive wave of e-commerce activities on those marketplaces. Already, tens if not hundreds of thousands of new vendors are making their entrance every month. Product innovations are introduced at a rapid pace and unprecedented sales numbers are realized when a product takes off. It often happens that the entrepreneurs themselves are overwhelmed by their own success. Suddenly, they have to make
expensive investments in scaling up and professionalizing to meet national and international e commerce requirements and guarantees. Maintaining stock in different European locations, working capital financing, creditworthiness, handling customer support and complaints, shipping and returns, you name it. Managing all that just isn’t for everyone.”
Dwarfs helps online vendors with these added pressures, offers entrepreneurs a generous exit after the acquisition, integrates their activities, then lets the businesses grow exponentially. “The Dwarfs business model requires the same professionalism, but multiplied by a factor X. Given the planned pace of acquisitions, you’ll have to check whether the vendor is compliant with all laws and regulations, conduct a security scan to check for data leaks, and conduct a financial review to ensure they’ve met all their obligations, all as a part of due diligence. After consolidating an acquisition within their rapidly growing organization, they’re going to have to safeguard those requirements very carefully. And that can be a challenge when you’re growing so rapidly. For that reason, I’m really looking forward to providing them with advice as a part of my new role and help them realize their towering ambitions,” Jongen said.
About Wijnand Jongen | Wijnand Jongen is one of the world’s leading authors and keynote speakers on retail and e-commerce. He is the founder of interest group Thuiswinkel.org and the co-founder and president of Ecommerce Europe. He wrote the bestselling book The End of Online Shopping, which was translated in 10 languages and published in 20+ countries. His new book ’25 years of online shopping in the Netherlands’ was published in November 2019. Wijnand is a speaker in high demand at (inter)national congresses and conferences.
About Dwarfs | E-commerce scaleup Dwarfs invests in online stores with revenues ranging from €0.5 – 10 million and with a focus on selling Garden & Outdoor, Tools & Home Improvement, Health & Household, Pet Supplies, and Sports & Outdoors goods. The group has chosen not to focus on online stores trading in products with significant return flows (such as fashion and lifestyle products) or products that require specialized advice, maintenance, and repair (such as electronics, smart home products and computers).
Dwarfs is the first e-commerce scaleup in the Netherlands aiming to acquire and consolidate online stores achieving rapid growth on the bol.com partner platform (LVB – Logistics via bol.com) and in some cases internationally through Amazon (FBA – Fulfillment by Amazon), but that are also running up against their limits. The upscaling of production, purchasing, logistics, customer care and marketing are often associated with sizeable cost increases, including the administrative burdens of international expansion and cross-border sales.