# /case-studies/klingspor  —  Klingspor · Abrasives
# https://o1.eu/case-studies/klingspor
# Operator One — Merchant of Record for European marketplaces.

## Summary
An industrial abrasives manufacturer took its catalogue back from third-party sellers and tripled its marketplace sales year on year.

## Result
+200% — sales growth year on year

## At a glance
- +200%: sales growth year on year
- 6 countries: DE · FR · IT · ES · NL · PL
- 6 Amazon sites: run to one catalogue standard
- +500%: product visibility increase

## Markets live
DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, PL

## Marketplaces live on
Amazon

## Challenge
Klingspor's offline distribution was strong, but the marketplaces were a different game. Third-party sellers were splitting packs into smaller units, eroding the brand's price positions and confusing the catalogue. Running thousands of technical products across several countries was not something the team could fix from the outside, because it needs a seller setup in every market and the standing that comes with it.

## What changed under Operator One
- Operator One became the seller layer across Europe, which is what makes it possible to hold a catalogue rather than watch it drift.
- The catalogue was standardised: product identifiers, listing variants and pack sizes brought under brand-consistent control.
- Brand protection runs continuously, with unauthorised sellers and broken listings dealt with at the source.
- With a coherent catalogue in place, product visibility rose sharply and sales followed.
- Six markets are run to one standard instead of six local variations.

## Outcome
Klingspor delivered 200% sales growth year on year and a 500% increase in product visibility, across six European markets run to one standard.

## Who this applies to
If third-party sellers are splitting your packs and rewriting your listings, no amount of reporting fixes it, because only the seller can hold the catalogue. Book a call to see what taking it back would involve.

## Story
Taking a technical catalogue back under control Klingspor manufactures abrasives for professional users: sanding and cutting products sold in thousands of technical variants. Offline, its distribution was strong and its reputation established. The problem Online was a different game entirely. Third-party sellers were buying the brand's products and splitting packs into smaller units, which eroded the price positions the brand had set and left the catalogue confusing to buyers. A professional looking for a specific abrasive could find several versions of it at inconsistent prices, none of them presented by the brand. Fixing that from the outside is not possible. Holding a catalogue means being the seller, with the standing to challenge listings and enforce standards, and doing it across several countries means a seller setup in each one. That was not something the team could build. What Operator One put in place Operator One became the seller layer across Europe. That change is what makes everything else possible: only the seller can standardise the catalogue and hold it there. Product identifiers, listing variants and pack sizes were brought under brand-consistent control, so the range presented itself the way Klingspor intended rather than the way resellers had reshaped it. Brand protection then runs continuously rather than as an occasional cleanup, with unauthorised sellers and broken listings dealt with at the source. Six markets are run to one standard rather than six local variations. Where the brand stands now Sales growth of 200% year on year. Product visibility up 500%, which is what a coherent catalogue produces. Six European markets run to a single standard. Pack sizes and price positions back under the brand's control. Who this applies to If third-party sellers are splitting your packs and rewriting your listings, no amount of reporting fixes it, because only the seller can hold the catalogue. Book a call to see what taking it back would involve.