Venda relaunches their own web site
Venda.com revealed a fresh coat of paint this month, with a new web site of their own. It reveals more than 20 examples of retail sites they host on Venda’s software-as-a-service platform, including BBC Shop, DeBeers, Laura Ashley, Jurlique, Superdrug, and Urban Outfitters (UK).
I wish the Flash animation at the bottom of their client page linked to each site and wasn’t so darned tricky to control. But the design and content are much improved — with relevant information for prospective clients.
Bulgari launches on ATG platform
Online jeweler, Bulgari, launched a new ecommerce site on the ATG Commerce platform this month. Visually, the site looks great. But I found it a little awkward from a usability standpoint. Landing at bulgari.com, you have disable your pop-up blocker, select your country, go to a splash screen and then find the “Shop Online” link. But shopping is there, if you look hard enough. Also, prices won’t display on category pages. I guess that’s by design(?)
Bulgari will be one of the first users of the newly acquired Cleverset technology for automated recommendations. ATG’s marketing chief said, “Quality and excellence are the cornerstones of Bulgari’s philosophy. The ATG solution both reflects those values and allows the retailer to achieve excellence in customer satisfaction and ensure an unrivalled shopping experience online.”
Depends on your point of view, I guess. Speaking for me, I’m not sure I’d classify the shopping experience as “unrivaled” just yet. Pretty, though, it is. See for yourself.
GSI acquires email marketing firm, e-Dialog
GSI Commerce recently acquired e-Dialog, a leading email marketing firm based in Massachusetts, for $157 million. The two organizations have long collaborated to help clients grow online business. The fit for both service providers is a natural. The acquisition closed on last week.
A majority of GSI customers already rely on them to manage the sales channel, a revenue driver for both client and vendor. Bringing e-Dialog into the fold enables GSI to offer email marketing as an entry point to a broader range of outsourced services. It also gives GSI greater opportunity to upsell into its base of 85 clients.
n2N investors to auction off “assets”
What the…? Spare parts anyone?
Designed around the needs of one retail client, n2N closed its doors just before Christmas when The Limited pulled its funding of the company in the wake of a downturn in business. The announcement of an auction on April 11 in Boston describes n2N as “a company formed to develop the retail industry’s first cross-channel, on-demand eCommerce software solution specifically designed for larger multi-channel retailers.” But the model of a pre-integrated (monolithic) set of features has limited appeal among the largest online retailers, each with their own custom needs.
A “who’s who” of third party software and service providers were brought together as a foundation of the product n2N built — but never released. I doubt they owned the source code for Demandware, Allurent, Endeca, etc. So I struggle to see how the ten pieces being auctioned off will be of much use to anyone.
House of Fraser launches on Demandware
Demandware recently announced it had launched a new ecommerce site for House of Fraser, a UK-based department store. The site is gorgeous and employs many innovative AJAX-based merchandising features from the product display to shopping cart. It is not at all cookie-cutter in its appearance. You would hardly believe this came from a console provider.
While the site is on the Demandware platform, it is being managed by eCommera, a new UK-based ecommerce service provider OEM-ing Demandware’s platform. According to Gunnar Sigurdsson of the Bauger Group, “We have a joint venture with Sir Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital that we call eCommera. It’s building a platform for our companies to establish their online operations through a centralized channel, so we can help them to access the best online platform and advice in a very efficient manner.”
House of Fraser had been running on the Venda platform. It is among the merchants in the Bauger Group, along with other notable UK retailers such as Hamleys.
Integration work was done by The Javelin Group with creative by LBi. By outsourcing design, technology and integration, I’m really not sure what remained for eCommera to do. I guess eCommera’s marketing team is still working on the press release.