MPB: Building Resilience and Maintaining Momentum
In the latest in our series of interviews with CEOs and founders backed by Beringea, we have spoken with Matt Barker, founder and CEO of MPB, about how he has sought to keep his business on a path to growth during the pandemic
While the outbreak of coronavirus in Asia gathered pace in the first two months of the year, its impact was not felt until March in Europe and North America. And yet, this delay did not soften the economic blow nor lessen the commercial disruption.
“Everyone was in the same position, as both consumers and businesses pulled back,” comments Matt Barker, founder and CEO of MPB, the leading marketplace for pre-owned photography and videography gear. “Everything fell by 50 per cent, both supply and demand, and throughout our core markets in the US, UK and Germany.”
Agility and resilience were suddenly the key to success. Throughout the pandemic, the team at MPB have consistently demonstrated an ability to adapt thoughtfully, build resilience, and maintain the momentum that has established it as a vital outlet for photography and videography enthusiasts across the UK, Europe and the USA.
Making the right decisions for employees
Managing teams during the pandemic has required many complex and challenging decisions. For MPB, there was a clear focus on protecting the physical and mental wellbeing of employees throughout the widespread lockdowns across the US, the UK and Europe.
As Matt comments, “we had to continue to look after our customers, but every decision has been shaped around prioritising our staff.”
For an online retailer with substantial warehouse operations, remaining operational required detailed planning to ensure social distancing in the workplace as well as flexible policies to ensure that staff could travel to the office safely.
Matt notes that “at a time when governments were telling us to work from home, 60 per cent of our staff were travelling into the warehouse to work.” This placed a lot of responsibility on Matt and his leadership team, who travelled daily into the warehouses in the UK and the US to work alongside staff.
Lockdowns and remote working also required a significant shift in approaches to leading over the past six months. “It was a total overhaul of how I tended to lead,” noted Matt. “I am normally in meetings and walking desk to desk to get to know my team. Now, we bring people together over Zoom — overcommunicating, if anything, in order to maintain the bonds between people.”
These changes have nonetheless largely been beneficial. “Responsibility and duty of care have been front of mind throughout the pandemic. It has challenged me, and I think I have become a better leader during the past six months — I feel more deeply connected to my team.”
The dominance of online retail and the rise of the passion economy
In spite of an immediate economic shock, consumer spending returned as a result of government support measures in MPB’s core markets. As an online marketplace without physical retail spaces, MPB was able to lean into resurgent consumer spending.
“While we initially paused investment and controlled our marketing spend, we ratcheted that spend back up and decided to remain present in our advertising. As our competitors pulled back further — often due to managing a physical retail footprint — we were able to push on,” Matt comments.
With swathes of the population working from home with more time to pursue hobbies, photography and videography were capturing the attention of consumers.
“In our case, we saw people trying to engage with their passions, using photographic kit more and seeking to buy new products to support their hobby.”
MPB is strongly positioned to harness the rise of this ‘passion economy’. As Matt explains, “our first role as a business was to bring the market for second-hand photography gear online. Now, it is serving the circular economy for content creators.” This will also tap into another global trend that Matt highlights: “re-use, circularity, and what consumers can do to adopt and purchase second-hand products will be a worldwide conversation shaping everything from fashion to hobby markets.”
Fuelled by these global trends and thoughtful leadership, MPB is positioned to maintain momentum and expand over the coming year. “We will continue to grow across the board — there remains a vast opportunity in the US, where we can win market share and build brand awareness.”
