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Are Direct has refreshed its wholesale buying platform, TheMarketHub, ahead of the Christmas shopping period.
The updated platform gives independent retailers access to more than 5,000 products across 120 categories from more than 200 brands. Ranges include trading cards, toys, games, gifts, stationery and general merchandise, with more than 800 Christmas lines listed on the site.
Retailers can place orders without subscription fees or minimum order values. The changes are intended to make it easier to find products, place orders and access distribution services through a single online system.
The new version was built on Shopify's business-to-business platform with Convert Digital. Search and navigation have also been updated to help shop owners test new ranges and reorder stock in smaller quantities.
Christmas focus
The relaunch comes before the busiest period of the year for many independent stores, when seasonal inventory decisions can have an outsized effect on cash flow and margins. Are Direct is positioning the service as a way for retailers to buy across multiple categories from one source without taking on large inventory commitments.
Goods ordered through TheMarketHub are stored, picked, packed and dispatched from the platform's distribution centre, then delivered across Australia through Are Direct's retail delivery network for a flat fee.
Alex Smith, General Manager at Are Direct Australia, said the platform was designed to give smaller retailers more flexibility.
"Independent retailers need the freedom to make buying decisions that work for their stores," Smith said.
"With the new TheMarketHub platform, retailers can explore products from hundreds of brands in one place and order what they need, when they need it. We've made the buying experience simpler while giving retailers the choice and flexibility that matter when you're running an independent business, especially in the lead-up to the busy Christmas retail period."
Broader investment
The launch is part of a wider investment by Are Media in the platform's digital and operational systems. Earlier this year, the business implemented a new Thomax warehouse management system with wireless scanning, along with changes to inventory handling, picking and packing.
Those warehouse changes sit behind the website overhaul. Together, they are intended to improve ordering and fulfilment as transaction volumes grow and the product range expands.
TheMarketHub has operated since 2017 and extends Are Direct's distribution business beyond magazines and printed media. The company distributes more than 70 million copies of printed media each year through its wholesale, distribution and logistics network across Australia.
That network remains central to its retail proposition. By combining online wholesale ordering with an existing national distribution footprint, Are Direct is targeting independent retailers that want broader product access without committing to large order sizes.
Are Direct is part of Are Media, which owns publishing brands including The Australian Women's Weekly, Better Homes and Gardens, Woman's Day and New Idea. Are Media is owned by Mercury Capital.
Smith said the investment covered both the customer-facing buying process and the fulfilment operation behind it.
"We've invested in how retailers buy and how we fulfil their orders," he said.
"TheMarketHub is now better equipped to support independent retailers as we pursue our growth agenda over the next 12 months, including expanding our range and increasing the number of exclusive products available to customers."