Title

 

How Air & Grace’s International D2C Model Reduced Costs and Improved Buyer Experience

 

Speakers

 

Fitch Richardson, Head of Marketing at Glopal

Scott Thomson, Consultant Commercial Director at Air & Grace

 

Summary

 

In this webinar, Air & Grace shared how they restructured their international ecommerce strategy by moving away from a Merchant of Record model and adopting a true direct to consumer approach with Glopal to achieve an 88% YoY international ecommerce growth.

 

The key driver for change was control. Under a Merchant of Record setup, Air & Grace faced higher effective costs, limited transparency, and a fragmented customer experience across international markets. While the model offered simplicity on paper, it restricted their ability to iterate, test pricing, and fully own the customer relationship.

 

By transitioning to a D2C model where Air & Grace remains the seller of record globally, the brand achieved lower total cost to serve, clearer landed pricing for customers, and greater flexibility to expand into new markets at pace. The shift also enabled a more consistent checkout experience and stronger alignment between brand, pricing, and customer expectations.

 

The central takeaway from the session was that sustainable international growth is not about outsourcing complexity, but about retaining ownership while using technology to simplify execution. For Air & Grace, this approach unlocked a more transparent, scalable, and commercially resilient international strategy.

 

---

 

 

What Air & Grace Changed

1. Air & Grace moved away from a Merchant of Record model that limited control, transparency, and flexibility.

2. They adopted a true international D2C model where Air & Grace remains the seller of record in every market.

3. This allowed them to take direct ownership of pricing, checkout, tax, duty, shipping, and customer communication globally.

   
   
   

Why the Merchant of Record Model Was Holding Them Back

1. Limited visibility over international performance and customer behaviour.

2. Higher effective costs driven by margin stacking and opaque fee structures.

3. Inconsistent customer experience across markets, particularly at checkout and post purchase.

4. Reduced ability to test, learn, and iterate market by market.

 

 

Key Outcomes After the Switch

1. Lower total cost to serve international customers.

2. Clearer and more predictable landed costs for shoppers, improving trust and conversion.

3. Better alignment between brand, pricing, and customer expectations in each market.

4. Faster experimentation across new countries without long term commercial lock in.

5. Improved internal confidence in international expansion decisions.

   
   
   

Strategic Learnings

1. International growth works best as an iterative process, not a one time rollout.

2. Owning the customer relationship globally is critical for long term brand value.

3. Transparency at checkout has a direct impact on conversion and repeat purchase.

4. Flexibility beats convenience when scaling into many markets over time.

5. Technology should enable international growth without forcing a replatform or operational overhaul.

 

 

Who This Is Most Relevant For

1. D2C brands already selling internationally but struggling with costs or control.

2. Brands using a Merchant of Record and questioning long term scalability.

3. Ecommerce teams looking to expand into more markets without adding complexity.

4. Businesses that want to balance operational efficiency with brand ownership.