Success story · Fortress Marine Anchors
A best-selling anchor that lost money
The FX-7 outsold every other anchor at West Marine. Online, the same product was unprofitable on every order, because the box was a little too big.
The FX-7, left, alongside the larger FX-11 and FX-16.
#1
Selling anchor at West Marine
3 weeks
To redesign the retail packaging
100%
In-stock rate over the past year
Demand was never the problem
The FX-7 was already the number one selling anchor at West Marine, so we knew people wanted it. Online was a different story: the unit economics didn’t work, and no amount of advertising fixes a listing that loses money on every order.
A box that was slightly too big
The packaging cleared Amazon’s standard size tier by a small margin, which pushed every unit into oversize fees. We worked with our warehouse and our internal teams to redesign the pack the customer actually receives so it came in under the threshold, and the item became profitable to sell online.
Three weeks, because summer doesn’t wait
Anchors sell in summer, and that season matters more to Fortress than the rest of the year put together. We had three weeks to finish the redesign and have stock ready for it. We carry the product year-round as well, for the people who need one in February.
Staying in stock is most of the job
Fortress had been running out. Someone who came to Amazon looking for a Fortress would settle for a cheap alternative rather than wait, and that customer is hard to get back. We’ve held a 100% in-stock rate over the past year so that stops happening.
“We are so happy that Pecan is part of the Fortress Family!”
Tracey Schwartz, Fortress Marine Anchors