Can multiple business entities operate under one .com on a single platform?

[rowdybagsuk]

Does Shopify allow multiple business entities to run off of one .com website?

To explain...

Our brand currently runs multiple countries. Each country is represented by local distributors that use their own ccTLD. South Africa runs off .co.za, Switzerland runs off .ch and UK runs off .co.uk. 

For brand consistency, we want all countries to fall under the .com extension and use country-specific sub-directories. South Africa would run off .com/za, Switzerland off .com/ch and the UK off .com/gb. Many large scale brands operate this model for valid reasons.

Of course, Shopify can accommodate such a set-up under one business entity but can Shopify satisfy this if every distributor is its own legal and local business entity?

Thanks in advance.

[coleatkinson]

HI @rowdybagsuk. This will come down to what you mean by "entity."

Firstly, you can target multiple countries with a single .com domain, and country specific subfolders for each different market, all within a single store - that's no problem. However, technically this is still one business entity that will have one set of reporting, and a single payout.

If you are looking for completely isolated reporting, payouts, compliance etc. for each business entity in different countries, currently this will require different stores. However, you would then only be able to target different countries with different domains or subdomains as you are doing today, not with subdirectories.

[rowdybagsuk]

Thanks for your response, Coleatkinson. 

This is what I thought. The subdirectory structure does not match the way in which our distribution network has been set up. The 'brand' currently has 3 or 4 businesses in different territories distributing and selling the ROWDY label at a local level. Every business has its own shareholders, its own payout method and manages its own ad spend. We pay a percentage turnover for royalties to use the brand and get access to marketing material.

There is a push from the brand owner for consistency across all assets and a quick browse will show that some countries have left others behind in terms of web development.

I am interested to hear what you would do to satisfy this brand move respecting the structure of the distribution network?

[moelle]

Hello Rowdybagsuk

I am experiencing the same issue with my store and wonder if you were able to resolve this. Is it possible to operate different legal entities under a single shopify platform?