Leveraging online marketplaces for international growth

: strategic considerations for the textile startup Marshmellow Fabrics

Abstract

This dissertation, titled “Leveraging online marketplaces for international growth: Strategic considerations for the textile startup Marshmellow Fabrics” by Marco Deininger examines how Marsh mellow Fabrics, a premium direct-to-consumer (D2C) home-textiles brand, can leverage online marketplaces as a strategic channel for international expansion. While online marketplaces increasingly gain importance, premium D2C brands face the challenge of understanding how to effectively operate and grow on these platforms. Empirical research offering practice-oriented insights including success factors and operational requirements remains limited. The project follows a qualitative industry research design, that combines established international ization theories with a qualitative analysis of the european marketplace ecosystem. Seventeen ex pert interviews with brand managers, representatives from marketplaces and technical intermedi aries were conducted to identify success factors, operational requirements and strategic considera tions relevant for premium home and lifestyle brands.The findings show that marketplaces lower traditional entry barriers and provide scalable pathways for internationalization, but premium brands must navigate these channels carefully to avoid price erosion and loss of positioning. Experts emphasised the advantages of curated marketplaces for maintaining pricing integrity and brand control. The study further highlights the central role of integrators in enabling access to premium marketplaces, ensuring high data quality and reducing operational complexity. Operationally, marketplace success depends on meeting strict requirements in product content, attribute completeness, fulfillment reliability and retail media investment. Overall, the dissertation develops a tailored marketplace strategy for Marshmellow Fabrics and extends existing research by providing actionable guidance for premium D2C brands entering online marketplaces.

Date of Award	26 Jan 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rute Xavier (Supervisor)