Denver Entrepreneur X Hydro Supply Forges New Version of Online Retail and Takes Aim at Amazon.com

USA - English

• USA - English

DENVER, March 25, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Tim Flanagan's situation can be likened to a 21st Century version of David versus Goliath. This time, however, the battlefield is in cyberspace and the underdog is hopping a ride on the hydroponics equipment supply chain of his soon-to-be-surpassed oppressor.

In April of 2015, Flanagan found himself at a crossroads. After leaving his long-standing position as production manager at a regional concert promotion, he started a hydroponic-based growing business that quickly became lucrative. Good fortune was not last, as fate would have it, as the business was awarded to his ex-partner when they separated.

He had plunged headfirst into the indoor growing industry, realized considerable success and then lost it all. Seemingly all of a sudden, he found himself with just 157 dollars and a unique vision: to build a stand-alone website for growers that would be the online equivalent of a mom and pop specialty store with an extensive selection and customized, superior service. He bought the domain name "Xhydrosupply.com" and began working toward his vision.

By 2017, Flanagan had built a business as a hydroponics equipment supplier that was modeled after his original idea -- and featured an online catalog of over 6,000 stock keeping units (SKUs). His idea to become a one-stop destination addressing every purchasing need a home grower could possibly encounter put him face to face with a villain known to many marketers: Amazon.com. The online behemoth, although instrumental in his initial ability to fulfill orders, had become a parasite of sorts -- siphoning revenue at a disproportionate rate.

The market miasma works like this: exponential growth of the urban farming and home growing movement drives consumer searches for Flanagan's products. Yet, rather than directing shoppers to his website they are instead funnelled -- by what some analysts deem to be underhanded tactics -- to his SKUs on Amazon's website. The giant then takes 15% of sales as well as 15% of shipping -- gouging tactics that add up to huge losses for a comparatively small, independent marketer.

And so, the battle lines are drawn as Flanagan and X Hydro Supply set out to gain market revenue that is rightfully theirs. The goal is to circumvent sales from the greedy maw of Amazon by reintroducing the idea that small businesses can be trusted to fulfill orders just like large corporations. The difference is that for Flanagan, serving every client and fulfilling every order is a matter of personal importance whereas with Amazon -- no one really gives a damn.

Flanagan contends that the key to this idea succeeding lies in X Hydro Supply building trust throughout the growing community and becoming an overt foe to Amazon -- so that shoppers deliberately seek out his brand in an effort to avoid supporting a veritable monopoly.    

This is likened to the corner mom and pop store winning customers who consciously choose to spend their money on independent business rather than toss another drop in the bucket of a massive corporation. Especially one that pays few (if any) federal taxes and even fewer dollars to its employees.

Meanwhile, X Hydro Supply is gradually gaining steam as a hydroponics equipment supplier by connecting with the resurgence of WWII-style victory gardens built by people who choose to grow their own food. Flanagan is also connecting with an exploding community of hemp farmers who are working to meet market demands for the manufacture of CBD oil -- a crucial element in the battle against the prescription opioid crisis.

The little guy parable is pervasive throughout history and today the dynamics are again at play. Once more, David has a clear shot and the backing of a large, united community.    

Reach out to X Hydro Supply to learn more about their extensive array of products and information made to meet the needs of the growgeneration.

SOURCE X Hydro Supply