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Why Selling on Amazon Is Not a Sales Strategy The pandemic forced Amazon to stop shipping "non-essential" products with its usual two-day commitment, and that change impacted many brands that rely solely on the Amazon platform.

By James McKinney

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Ju Rhyu, co-founder of Hero Cosmetics, was a guest at the most recent Startup Story Live, an extension of the hit podcast The Startup Story that gives everyone in attendance direct access to founders. The two-day live stream event, which streamed to 77 different countries, allowed founders to share the tactics and strategies they have employed to stabilize their current businesses.

During her time at Startup Story Live, Rhyu explains how she discovered her pimple-care patch while working for Samsung in South Korea. From that discovery, Rhyu rebranded that product as the Mighty Patch and brought it to the United States in 2018 by way of Amazon.

Her initial launch strategy was to test the market and messaging via Amazon, but an omni-channel strategy was always her intention. Once the market accepted the Mighty Patch, Rhyu immediately garnered the attention of retailers like Anthropology and CVS. Rhyu explained the importance of this omni-channel strategy — so many brands launch on Amazon and never diversify because of the volume and success they see on that platform. The challenge with a single-channel strategy is that it is vulnerable to external disruption, even for Amazon.

Related: This Company's 7-Year Journey From Kitchen to Acquisition

James McKinney

Creator & Host, The Startup Story

James McKinney is the Founder & Host of The Startup Story, a multi-channel brand platform that brings the lessons of highly successful founders directly to the everyday founder. Whether it is through The Startup Story podcast or via the Startup Story LIVE event series, entrepreneurs everywhere can receive tactical and practical guidance from founders who are a few steps ahead.

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