Founded in 2012 by engineer George Lin, Paper Shoot Camera combined George’s love for analog photography and sustainability, using eco-friendly, durable stone materials to create digital cameras. Initially available only in Asia, the brand expanded to North America, South America, and Europe in 2021 when CEO and co-founder Gillian Gallant and CFO Jack Bisson made a strategic investment in the company. This move propelled Paper Shoot Camera from a small, sustainable analog camera brand into an international success.
Initially, Gillian shipped orders out of her living room in Ottawa, Canada. Rapid success led to a production bottleneck as a few orders turned into thousands. Friends and family were assisting with shipping to keep up with the growth, but it was evident that Paper Shoot Camera needed a more scalable solution to meet customer demands worldwide.
In 2022, Paper Shoot Camera began working with a third-party logistics (3PL) partner to assist with the soaring demand. But with high shipping costs and unexpected duties and fees, the partnership was clearly not the right long-term solution. That’s when the brand began taking advantage of Shopify’s international sales tools.
After four months of using Managed Markets from Shopify, Paper Shoot Camera experienced:
- 69% increase in global sales
- 12% Increase in global conversion
- 105% increase in conversion growth in Italy
- 48% increase in conversion growth in Mexico
The Challenge: Reducing the Costs and Complexity of Cross-Border Selling
Gillian and Jack recognized Paper Shoot Camera's potential as a global phenomenon, but they understood that shipping from their homes was costly and unsustainable. In 2022, they enlisted a US-based 3PL for fulfillment, yet soon discovered the high expenses of serving international customers. As Gillian explains, “We had to charge extra for international shipments. Paper Shoot Camera absorbed part of the cost, but it wasn't a great customer experience to have them pay duties and fees at the door.”
Eager to continue the sales momentum at Paper Shoot Camera, Gillian and Jack assessed their global fulfillment alternatives. “We tossed around several options because we knew that high shipping costs would prevent us from growing internationally,” says Gillian.
They considered using their existing warehouse in Houston, but shipping their products long distances and across borders from this location seemed complicated and expensive at the time.
Another option was to find a 3PL with warehouses in their target regions, but no 3PL offered an optimal regional overlap with the brand’s global customer base. Gillian and Jack even considered managing multiple local warehouses to serve North America, South America, the United Kingdom, and Italy. But owning warehouses in other countries presented risks and challenges of their own that would have added to the team’s workload.
“There was just so much that we had to figure out logistically to manage our own warehouse in each region,” says Gillian. “For example, do we want to go and see the warehouse so that we're not scammed on the Internet? Do we have to fly down to all these different countries and build that out? Do we hire more people and take on more rent?” They knew they needed a better solution.
The Solution: Managed Markets help unlock international sales
At the end of 2023, Paper Shoot Camera started shipping with the help of Managed Markets from Shopify, which leverages a merchant of record model to handle the complex aspects of cross-border selling, such as managing duties, taxes, and compliance with local regulations. The solution also allowed Paper Shoot Camera to provide a more seamless shopping experience for customers around the world by offering a local shopping feel, with options to use local currencies and payment methods at checkout.
“I was really happy when we found Managed Markets as a solution,” says Gillian. “It was easy to set up, and it's really given us the opportunity to do the expansion into our new territories.”
Managed Markets also allowed Paper Shoot Camera to keep their inventory in a single warehouse and ship directly to consumers at reasonable rates, eliminating the need to switch 3PLs and manage multiple warehouse locations.
“I can't say exactly which direction we would have gone,” says Gillian. “But I do know that we were a few months away from getting a bunch of warehouses.” Looking back, Gillian is thankful that Paper Shoot Camera did not have to select the costly and time-consuming option of managing many warehouses all over the world. “Shipping internationally with Shopify is way more affordable than the alternative,” she says.
The Results: A picture of international success
With Managed Markets from Shopify eliminating shipping cost surprises for both Paper Shoot Camera and their customers, the team has more resources to invest back in the business, such as local content and advertising, which has had a tangible impact on their sales around the world. The efficiencies they’ve gained from using Shopify’s international sales tools have also opened up more opportunities for growth.
“Paper Shoot Camera has five more social media accounts, and we’re investing in paid ads, which has taken our business to the next level,” says Gillian, adding that these efforts have helped boost international sales in a short amount of time. With their challenges handling the complexities of international sales behind them, the team is fully focused on bringing their sustainable digital camera technology to more photographers around the world.
Managed Markets started as a solution to our international fulfillment problem. Since then, it’s grown into a powerful tool for helping us unlock and expand our global presence. Without it, we could not have grown as fast as we have.