Glami also has the ambition to expand. From the Czech Republic to the world. Where do you operate today?
Except the Czech Republic in all neighboring countries. And now we’re testing Brazil, which is the 14th market for us. We are emerging markets, markets that are new to large online fashion retailers. And we’re trying to ride a wave with them. We do not have too many vacant markets in Europe, so we are trying to move on.
What of this money do you have a margin for you?
It depends on the segment and the specific business and its strategy. On average, it is between 10 and 20 percent.
By working with businesses across the market, you are one of the few to see into merchants’ data. Even those who don’t report much about themselves. The Czech Republic has recently been joined by strong foreign players Zalando or About You. How are they doing?
It is estimated that they invested up to hundreds of millions of crowns in the Czech Republic in a few months. This took home Zoot for years. The investment must then be seen. They quickly reached the top spot among online fashion retailers. The first years will not be profitable, but they expect the return on their investment to come gradually.
What exactly does entering an exotic market like Brazil look like?
The key is to understand the market and recruit the right team. Glami has the advantage that our business model is simply scalable. We are a technology company, we have a strong development team in the Czech Republic and we build on it. Now, for example, image search is a big issue for us. In all local markets, then we must be strong in marketing and content, this is our greatest preparation when entering a new market.
How does image search work?
People today buy by Instagram, they like something, take a screenshot and enter it into a search. The success rate that Glami can find exactly what you want is steadily increasing. We are close to the ideal. We try different approaches to this. On the one hand, we develop the technology ourselves and we also compare it with what is on the market as a finished solution.
When we mention Instagram, is there a risk to you? That social networks of this type will start selling similar services themselves, will they sell themselves?
A similar service can handle Instagram, Facebook or Google. But Glami will always have the advantage of specializing in a particular area, fashion will always be our domain, so I believe we can offer a better service.
In addition to directing Glami, you are also one of the Miton investment group partners. How did you get that?
I became part of Miton’s activities about twelve years ago. At school I was looking for what I would do. Miton was then a local company that developed a Heureka grader. And here I started. After Heureka was sold, Glami was a company I founded with Miton, and at the same time I became a partner in Miton and other investment projects. Other companies we are actively involved in are development, such as Rohlík.cz, Bonami or Rossum, which, using the cognitive data capture discipline, teaches computers to understand documents in the way people do it.
Also published on Medium.