One E-commerce Epic Fail and One Extraordinary Success
Steve compares two same-week e-commerce headlines: Hero Cosmetics' $630M acquisition versus PharmaPacks' bankruptcy despite $500M+ in sales, to explain why revenue without margin discipline is a trap.
Steve Simonson
Show notes
Steve dissects two e-commerce headlines that landed in the same week: Hero Cosmetics' $630 million acquisition by Church & Dwight, and PharmaPacks' bankruptcy filing despite being a top Amazon seller by revenue for years.
He walks through why a strategic buyer paid a large multiple for one brand while the other, with real gross margin but overhead that outpaced it, collapsed, and connects the lesson to getting operations tight amid rising sourcing and shipping uncertainty.
For sellers and founders who want a cautionary, numbers-based look at why revenue growth alone isn't a strategy.