“There are never two stories of entrepreneurs that are the same” says Nicholas Loreti, Chief Operations Officer of Cloud Store, when explaining the profile of the users of its electronic commerce platform. One that grows by leaps and bounds.
Something curious happens with Tienda Nube, but it is increasingly common in the world of technology, and that is that I probably don't know them but I've been using them for years. It is a platform that helps other companies, and ventures, to "ride" on the wave of electronic commerce. And they are doing it well, since they have more than 100.000 active stores in Latin America.
With a valuation of more than 3.100 million dollars, in 2021, this venture, although it sounds new, is not so much, because was founded in 2011 and has been considered, for years, as one of the great Latin unicorns in the region.
“They assess us as the sixth largest company on the continent” affirms Nicolás Loreti, who proudly adds: "What we do is lower the barriers of undertaking entrepreneurship to zero”.
With a view to strengthening its growth in the region, Tienda Nube recently announced a US$10 million investment in Colombia, to be invested in the next 24 months, and which seeks as its first objective to reach 10.000 customers.
Growing up with the pandemic
Although it is true that Tienda Nube had been growing since before Covid-19, the same thing happened to many protagonists of electronic commerce: the pandemic was a catalyst that triggered them. Let's remember that by mid-2021, ecommerce reached 26,7 trillion dollars.
“When we started with Tienda Nube, ten years ago, we had to explain to people why we had to be online. Later, with the pandemic, nothing had to be explained because everyone wanted to be on the Internet.
Nicolás Loreti, Chief Operations Officer of Tienda Nube.
And it was not only the number of companies that began to set up their digital channels, but also a diversification of electronic commerce. A couple of years ago, ecommerce mostly moved technology products and tickets, among other categories. But with the pandemic, other types of products such as food, sporting goods, changing rooms, etc. began to move.
Loreti adds in this regard: “In Argentina and Brazil, the food segment grew a lot and we have anecdotal average cases, which are still being sold today, such as fish and bananas. Before the pandemic, it did not occur to a fishmonger to sell online, but that changed ”.
Benefits and users
Talking about the benefits of his platform, Loreti says that “20 years ago, if you wanted to start a business, you had to rent premises, set up shelves, buy stock and so on, so on. Today, for 30 days free and then 19.900 pesos per month, and a commission, you are testing your business and reaching an audience potentially not only in all of Colombia, but in all of Latin America.”
Because one of the main added values of this firm is the facility to set up stores in E-commerce in countless companies.
“Basically it is aimed at many, anyone who has a business, an aspiration or a hobby, or who is selling, perhaps through social networks, or who has an offline business and wants to digitize it. In a few minutes you will be selling without any kind of technical knowledge”.
Benefits like this have helped the growth of investments in this and other regional e-commerce platforms. In the case of Tienda Nube, it received a capital injection of 500 million dollars, in August 2021, which has served to strengthen its expansion plans.
From parents to children
Another element has been the proliferation of new payment platforms such as PayPal, AmazonPay, ApplePay, GPay, not to mention the emergence of fintech companies that abound in Latin America. Another point, even more important, is the greater penetration of the Internet and smart devices.
These generational changes have also affected traditional businesses, as Loreti recalls, adding that there has been a frequent case of children who have dedicated themselves to digitizing their parents' businesses -especially SMEs-, and where online business often ends up being bigger than offline business.
Main image: Cloud Store
