We are merchants.
There was a time when being a merchant was not only a profession, it was also a dangerous and adrenaline filled profession. It attracted capitalist adventurers, they took risks not only with their money but also with their lives.
Today, it's far more subdued. I wish it wasn't so 5% of the time, the rest of the time I'm really happy to be able to do conduct commerce from behind my desk and 10m away from my kitchen. Although I run and own an e-commerce business, I like to say that I'm a merchant. It's closer to reality and it helps me think that if I was born in the 18th century I would own merchant ships and travel to unknown places to discover new products.
Most of our business is on platforms.
Platforms (like amazon.com or walmart.com) allowed us to expand to different categories amazingly fast. We are working on a set of projects which aim to increase the share of our sales which are done through our own websites. This investment is going to take a while to provide results, but we will be patient. Over the last 24 months or so, the life of Amazon merchants has become increasingly difficult: higher fees and obligatory marketing spend are the biggest culprits but there are other pain points.