The Wander Club, a fast-growing ecommerce business selling travel-themed products, partnered with Passport to expand their business internationally. Based in San Diego with leadership in Los Angeles, they primarily serve the US market with travel-themed products and collectibles, including popular MLB merchandise and city/landmark-themed items. The company is led by a small but ambitious team looking to scale beyond their domestic success, with their sites set on key goals:
- Diversify revenue beyond the United States
- Identify and capitalize on top international markets
- Increase conversion rates in global markets
- Build confidence in international expansion
- Establish foundation for future retail and wholesale opportunities
International Expansion Challenges
Prior to Passport, The Wander Club already had a strong domestic presence in the United States. They saw a great opportunity to grow further by expanding into other countries, but they didn’t know where to start.
Challenges they experienced prior to Passport included:
- Limited international experience and expertise
- Uncertainty about which global markets to prioritize
- Lack of international marketing strategies
- Complexity of cross-border compliance and operations
“I’m extremely green when it comes to international. I don’t think I would be able to do 10% of what we’re doing currently, if it were not for our partnership with Passport Global that has kind of led that growth and expansion.” — Vanessa Nguyen, Operations Manager at The Wander Club
How The Wander Club Evaluated and Chose Passport
The Wander Club’s decision to partner with Passport came at a critical juncture in their growth journey. As a growing ecommerce business with limited international experience, they needed a solution that could provide comprehensive support while minimizing the operational burden on their small team.
Why Passport Was The Right Fit
After evaluating their options, The Wander Club chose Passport for several key reasons:
- Comprehensive solution: Passport offered both the technology platform and the expertise they needed in one package.
- Proactive partnership: The Wander Club valued Passport’s approach to actively identifying issues and opportunities, as evidenced by their quick action in the QBR to improve conversion rates.
- Ease of implementation: Vanessa noted that Passport Global was “very easy to digest and easy to insert into our business to help it grow.”
- Hands-on support: The team appreciated that Passport handled complex tasks like harmonization codes, with Passport offering to “do this all for you and get it implemented in Shopify.”
“For someone who is a novice when it comes to international expansion, Passport has been very easy to digest and easy to insert into our business to help it grow.” — Vanessa Nguyen, Operations Manager at The Wander Club
Solution: Partnership with Passport
The Wander Club has leveraged two key Passport solutions to navigate the complexities of international expansion:
1. Passport Global
Passport Global provided The Wander Club with the technology and expertise to expand internationally without having to develop in-house capabilities. This allowed them to focus on their core business while relying on Passport’s platform to handle international complexities.
“We signed on with Passport in August and had a QBR by September or October where we Passport quickly identified that our conversion rates were taking a hit and immediately explained why and how we could remedy that. The Passport team is really assertive about calling out what needs to be worked on and proactive about getting it done and following through. They tee everything up for us – even harmonization codes – they’ll say ‘send me your master SKU list, we’ll do this all for you and get it implemented in Shopify.’ For someone who is a novice when it comes to international expansion, Passport Global has been very easy to digest and easy to insert into our business to help it grow.” — Vanessa Nguyen, Operations Manager at The Wander Club
2. Seller of Record
Passport’s Seller of Record service, which is included with Passport Global as part of Passport’s full suite of compliance services, removed the compliance and operational barriers to global selling, handling the intricate details of cross-border commerce on The Wander Club’s behalf.
“Seller of Record has made global tax compliance something we don’t have to think about,” said Vanessa Nguyen. “Passport is proactive about keeping us compliant. They notify us the moment we cross a threshold, which takes a huge burden off my plate.”
Implementation Strategy
The Wander Club’s success with Passport Global Global comes from a strategic and collaborative relationship that includes:
- Regular strategic consultations: Quarterly business reviews (QBRs) to assess performance and plan next steps
- Market-specific strategies: Focus on top-performing international markets
- Ongoing optimization: Testing shipping thresholds and other conversion tactics
- Expert guidance: Access to international marketing consultants through Passport
- Customer support: Responsive support for The Wander Club’s customers
Key Results
Passport Global’s comprehensive approach unlocked significant year-over-year growth for The Wander Club, including:
- 11x international gross merchandise value growth
- 19% higher average order value
- 9x more international shipments
- 19 new countries delivered to
Beyond quantifiable gains, Passport has enabled The Wander Club to grow and expand in a variety of ways including:
- Successful entry into international markets despite limited in-house expertise
- Identification of top-performing global markets (with top 3 markets significantly outperforming others)
- Ability to focus on domestic growth while simultaneously expanding globally
- Growing confidence in international strategy
- Foundation for future cross-border initiatives
Ongoing Partnership
The Wander Club continues to work closely with Passport, with future plans focusing on:
- Optimizing marketing strategies for specific countries
- Website optimization for international audiences
- Testing free shipping thresholds to increase conversion
- Exploring fulfillment options in other countries
- Developing new products informed by demand in their top international markets
“We had never imagined that Australia would be as big as it is, and that is not one of our top markets. Passport Global has even informed our product developments. We’re creating more products for Australian cities and more Canadian cities to better cater to those markets. We wouldn’t have those insights without Passport Global.” — Vanessa Nguyen, Operations Manager at The Wander Club
Conclusion
The Wander Club’s growth and success with Passport Global shows how even companies with limited international experience can successfully expand globally with the right partner. By leveraging Passport’s expertise and technology, The Wander Club has been able to maintain focus on their core domestic business while simultaneously building a strong international presence.
Are You Ready to Expand Globally?
If you’re an ecommerce brand looking to grow beyond your domestic market but unsure where to start, Passport offers the technology, expertise, and support you need to succeed internationally. Like The Wander Club, you can leverage Passport Global with Passport’s patent-pending Seller of Record solution to handle the complexities of cross-border commerce while you focus on what you do best – growing your business.
Ready to unlock your global potential?
