Grams(28) stimulates sales growth by offering BNPL

Grams(28), a Hong Kong eCommerce brand founded in 2019, aims to bridge the gap in the luxury market by offering quality Italian leather goods that seamlessly blend functionality with aesthetics. All leathers are certified by the Italian Leather Working Group, a certification body governed by Italian labor and environmental laws, to ensure the leathers are ethically and sustainably sourced. 

As a luxury brand, Grams(28) employs a premium pricing strategy, making impulse buying uncommon among consumers. The sales process is inevitably lengthened, hindering business growth. To shorten consumer consideration time, Grams(28) sought to implement a Buy Now Pay Later payment option. However, the complexity of account reconciliation posed a serious challenge to the team.

Grams(28) is currently operating across the United States, Europe, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Dealing with various currencies, exchange rates, delivery costs and international transaction fees, Grams(28) needs to closely monitor the performance of each market, ideally from a single platform, to make informed and strategic decisions. The team must also ensure that the marketing teams across different markets have sufficient funds for daily ad placements. The speed of cross-border transfers can significantly impact their sales of the day.

Challenge 1: Time-consuming setup and complicated reconciliation process of Buy Now Pay Later

To shorten consumer consideration time and accelerate sales, Grams(28) sought to offer customers the Buy Now Pay Later option, enabling them to receive the product after paying only a small deposit.

Traditionally, Grams(28) would need to establish a legal entity and a company bank account in each operating market to receive customer payments. This process could take at least six months and incur costs in the five- or even six-digit range. Not only is this cost-prohibitive for eCommerce businesses, but it also complicates the reconciliation process, especially for Grams(28) operating across the United States, Europe, Hong Kong, and Singapore with different currencies and exchange rates.

Benjamin

Founder of Grams(28)

"Airwallex’s Klarna plugin completely solved our problems. From initial setup to deployment, the process took less than a week, perfectly aligning the speed that eCommerce requires."

Solutions & Results: Airwallex’s Klarna plugin to expedite seamless integration

Airwallex’s Klarna plug-in allows Grams(28) to seamlessly integrate the Buy Now Pay Later payment option into its eCommerce platform. The process, from initial setup to full deployment, took less than a week. Grams(28) can also manage its USD, EUR, SGD, and HKD through the comprehensive Airwallex platform, making account reconciliation a breeze.

Buy Now Pay Later has accounted for 20% of Grams(28)’s sales since they started using the Klarna plug-in.

Challenge 2: Difficulty in monitoring actual market performance with various currencies and fees

As a global eCommerce business, Grams(28) deals with various logistics costs, international transaction fees, and currency exchange rates on a daily basis.

Typically, cross-border settlement platforms consolidate all transactions into a single report, making it challenging for the team to track the actual sales performance and cash flow of each market.

They require a simple and straightforward solution to monitor market performance transparently and clearly.

Solutions & Results: Manage all currencies through the all-in-one Airwallex Payments

With Airwallex Payments, Grams(28) can now settle all transactions in local currencies directly into their Airwallex Global Account. This multi-currency account enables the team to effortlessly track cash flow, transactions, and expenses across the board.

This not only enables Grams(28) to understand their actual performance better but also helps them save up to 90% on FX fees.

Benjamin

Founder of Grams(28)

"Airwallex widened our horizon. As they support the payment process in Germany and Japan, it propels us to look into opening physical shops in those locations."

Challenge 3: Slow international transfer impacts daily operations

To ensure that marketing teams across each market have sufficient funds for daily operations, such as ad placements, KOL payments, and software subscriptions, Grams(28) conducts cross-border transfers on a daily basis.

Before Airwallex, Grams(28) had to conduct international remittances through traditional banks, which could take 24 hours or more to arrive. If the team does not have enough funds for the day, sales will be directly affected; if employees pay out of their own pocket, the reimbursement and reconciliation work will be problematic for the accounting team. Whichever way Grams(28) goes, it seems to be a lose-lose situation.

Solutions & Results: Create employee cards in minutes to break through operational bottleneck

Through Airwallex, Grams(28) can now easily create employee cards for various teams with just a few clicks. They can assign different cards for different purposes, eliminating the need for reimbursement altogether.

Airwallex also provides same-day cross-border transfer services, ensuring teams across all markets have sufficient funds for daily operations. This helps break through operational bottlenecks and boosts team productivity.

View full interview below to learn more how Airwallex enables eCommerce brands to grow their online sales and streamline financial operations.