What started as a simple marital conversation has evolved into a $40 million e-com business that goes above and beyond to answer its customers’ hair care questions. It all started as a hobby. Dennis Huang was experimenting with the Internet back in 1995 when he was still in college pursuing his PhD. He first put up a web page on AOL, selling organic green tea. Business was disappointing, so he shut down the business twice.
The people behind this home living e-com retailer understand that an accurate company name is the key to building a strong company brand. In 2009, seven years after it was founded as Hammocks.com, the company now known as Hayneedle decided to rename and rebrand to make its service offering clear. Ash ElDifrawi, chief marketing officer at Hayneedle, said the name represents the benefit to consumers of shopping on the site, which is finding exactly what they were looking for to decorate their homes.
This company may already be at the top of the video game retail food chain, but it is looking for new ways to drive consumers online and tie all of its channels together. With about 6,400 stores in 17 countries and multiple e-commerce sites, GameStop is the largest video game retailer in the world. The company actually operates under three different nameplates: GameStop, EB Games, and Micromania, the top French video game retailer, which GameStop acquired in 2008. In addition to the retail and online channels, the company also publishes Game Informer in the US and internationally.
This online retailer uses technology to deliver an enjoyable shopping experience to its customers. Rich Bergsund, CEO of San Francisco, Calif.-based Wine.com, said his team’s overall strategy is the same now, despite a down economy, as it has always been. “In any economic climate, the most important aspect of our strategy is to know who our customers are. From there, we can do our best to be great at providing them with the experience they want,” he said.
This e-com luggage company uses more than 80 years of brick and mortar experience to translate its value over the Web. It’s difficult to translate your company’s all-around expertise over a computer screen, especially in the days of price-compare Web sites that direct consumers away from your home page. But with a company history dating back more than 80 years, this is exactly what LuggageOnline.com is focused on as it transitions more of its brick and mortar business into the online arena.
Untangling the confusion around computer and network cables and wires is now a little easier and cheaper. It can be a frustrating when you think you’ve gotten the best deal on a new HDTV, computer, or stereo, only to find that you’re going to have to dig deep into your wallet to buy a myriad of network cables and wires. That’s where Monoprice, Inc. comes in, providing a large selection of high quality computer, audio/video, and networking cables at reasonable prices on its Web site.
This e-commerce Web site is celebrating 10 years in business with growth and a rich corporate structure. In the 10 years since it was launched, e-commerce retailer Overstock has had its fair share of battles. It started out as one of a few in the online retail sector, struggled to build out the foundations of a company blazing new trails, and then developed a distinct brand that set it apart from other Internet players that eventually joined in the fray.
This wholesale liquidator caters to both buyers and sellers of distressed inventory by evolving its business platform and enhancing its e-commerce platform. Genco Marketplace (GMP) is in the margin recovery business. But unlike companies such as Overstock, GMP differentiates itself with a multi-channel approach that helps retailers and manufacturers maximize recovery value for distressed inventory. And with $5.2 million worth of product being sold every business day, the company is clearly doing something right.
