Press Releases
CompactAppliance.com breaks out of the box with more niches
Nov. 1, 2008: InternetRetailer.com
As it builds beyond its initial niche of selling appliances and home furnishings sized for apartment dwellers, there’s nothing compact about CompactAppliance.com’s strategy of expanding into new markets.
With a new e-commerce platform from Demandware Inc., the retailer is able to make faster changes to web site design and more quickly launch microsites serving markets as diverse as beer-cooling equipment and tankless hot water heaters, says Jason Roussos, president of Richlund Ventures Inc., operator of CompactAppliance and its growing roster of microsites.
Bolstered by upgraded technology and a more diversified e-commerce strategy, CompactAppliance.com expects to finish out the year in good order, with web sales up by 25% or higher, he says. “We can now build multiple web sites in a hosted environment using just one standard catalog, and do it quickly,” Roussos says.
CompactAppliance.com also installed an analytics package from Omniture Inc. and an e-mail marketing program from Yesmail, a unit of InfoGroup Inc.
CompactAppliance.com, which generated web sales of $30 million in 2007, recently launched LivingDirect.com as a universal branding site. Over time CompactAppliance.com will launch more microsites, such as kegerator.com, a forthcoming e-commerce destination that will sell a variety of beer-cooling equipment and related accessories. The company plans to use LivingDirect.com, which sells wine and beverage cooling and dispensing products, compact appliances and specialty items, as a universal brand that will drive traffic to its present and future microsites, Roussos says.
Another of its microsites, HotwaterSource.com, sells tankless water heaters. By migrating to a universal brand, CompactAppliance.com sees a new opportunity to appeal to a broader universe of specialty appliance shoppers and improve its online marketing program, including search engine optimization.
“LivingDirect.com will be a destination and over time will become our main brand,” Roussos says. “Shoppers can come to LivingDirect.com and do a live chat, read and participate in customer reviews, and blog. It will be a branded entity for specialized appliance shoppers.”
CompactAppliance.com thinks of the bigger strategic picture
Oct. 15, 2008: InternetRetailer.com
An updated e-commerce platform launched in conjunction with other new technology is helping CompactAppliance.com diversify its web strategy.
This summer CompactAppliance.com, No. 259 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide , moved from its old e-commerce platform from MarketLive Inc. to a hosted application from Demandware. CompactAppliance.com also installed an analytics package from Omniture and an e-mail marketing program from Yesmail.
With better technology, the online retailer now can make major design changes faster, which is speeding up the launch of more microsites, says Jason Roussos, president of Richlund Ventures Inc., operator of CompactAppliance.com. “We can now build multiple web sites in a hosted environment using just one standard catalog, and do it quickly,” Roussos says.
Also this summer CompactAppliance.com, which generated web sales of $30 million in 2007, launched LivingDirect.com as a universal branding site. Over time CompactAppliance.com will launch more microsites such as kegerator.com, a forthcoming e-commerce destination that will sell a variety of beer cooling equipment and related accessories. But the company also will use LivingDirect.com, which sells wine and beverage cooling and dispensing products, compact appliances and specialty items, as a universal brand that will drive traffic to its present and future microsites, Roussos says.
CompactAppliance.com was founded as a niche business–the site carries more than 1,500 SKUs and specializes in selling small appliances for tight living and office space. Another microsite, HotwaterSource.com, sells tankless water heaters. By migrating to a universal brand, CompactAppliance.com sees a new opportunity to appeal to a broader universe of specialty appliance shoppers and improve its online marketing program, including search engine optimization. “LivingDirect.com will be a destination and over time will become our main brand,” Roussos says. “Shoppers can come to LivingDirect.com and do a live chat, read and participate in customer reviews, and blog. It will be a branded entity for specialized appliance shoppers.”
Bolstered by upgraded technology and a more diversified e-commerce strategy, CompactAppliance.com expects to finish out the year in good order, with web sales up by 25% or higher, he says.
Jason Roussos spoke in June at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition and his audio-visual presentation at IRCE 2008 is available on CD-ROM.
Demandware Powers Compact Appliance and Living Direct eCommerce Sites
July 8, 2008: InternetRetailer.com
Leading Retail Equity Firm and Online Retailer of Distinct Home Living Products Launches Multiple Web Storefronts on Demandware eCommerce Platform
WOBURN, Mass.-- Demandware, developer of the only enterprise-class on-demand ecommerce platform, today announced that Richlund Ventures has selected the Demandware eCommerce Platform to power all of its home living destination ecommerce sites. The multi-brand retail equity firm recently launched two Web storefronts on Demandware – www.compactappliance.com and www.livingdirect.com – with plans to roll out additional sites in the coming months.
Compact Appliance provides small-format home appliances, while Living Direct provides a broader spectrum of home living products, including appliances, outdoor furniture and housewares. The combined annual revenue of the two brands is approximately $37 million.
Founded in 1999, Richlund Ventures is a privately-owned company that specializes in identifying niche and emerging markets and meeting the needs and challenges those opportunities present through multiple retail websites. The company’s direct retail brands include Compact Appliance, Living Direct, EdgeStar, Portable Airshop, Hot Water Source and Richlund Supply. Richlund Ventures wanted an ecommerce solution that was easily customizable, included rich merchandising capabilities, allowed them to launch multiple sites quickly and didn’t require a significant investment in IT infrastructure.
“Everything is better with Demandware,” said Jason Roussos, president of Richlund Ventures. “It has been a fundamental change in how we do business. We are projecting significant growth for our online channel and with Demandware we have an ecommerce platform that can take us to the next level.”
Richlund Ventures selected Demandware because of the following differentiators:
- Full in-house control: Richlund Ventures needed to be able to easily customize their sites and make changes quickly. Demandware provides full control over merchandising promotions, search, catalog, pricing and all other aspects of the online shopping experience.
- Continuous innovation through the on-demand model: Demandware’s automatic upgrades allows Richlund Ventures to constantly innovate their sites, while eliminating the burden of maintaining costly IT infrastructure.
- Ability to launch multiple sites quickly, without costly services: Demandware’s architecture makes it possible to quickly roll out multiple sites from within one environment. The second site, compactappliance.com, was launched with no assistance from Demandware and in less than 45 days.
“We are a retailer, not a technology company. We don’t want to own the technology or the infrastructure, but we are fast-moving and it’s important that we stay ahead of the innovation curve,” said Roussos. “With Demandware, we can take advantage of the constant stream of new features that they provide, while we focus on our core competency of marketing and merchandising our product offerings.”
“Richlund Ventures is an incredibly astute retail equity firm that understands the potential of the online channel and we’re delighted to welcome them to the Demandware family. Along with Demandware’s other multi-site clients, Richlund Ventures recognizes the unique operational advantages of our on-demand model for serving multi-brand businesses,” said Stephan Schambach, chairman and founder of Demandware.
About Living Direct (previously known as Richlund Ventures)
Founded in 1999 with the launch of the Compact Appliance.com website, Richlund Ventures is a privately owned company that specializes in identifying niche and emerging markets and meeting the needs and challenges those opportunities present through multiple retail websites. Richlund Ventures’ flagship website continues to be Compact Appliance.com which was created to provide an online destination for people in search of distinctive home appliances that offer superior style and maximum functionality. In addition to its online marketing and retail division, Richlund Ventures is the direct importer for the EdgeStar line of appliances.
Richlund Ventures’ sustained level of success is attributable to a consistent focus on innovation, evolving marketing techniques and a continual emphasis on offering the best service and sales support possible. Since inception, the company has always understood that in order to maintain viability in today’s marketplace, it must provide first-class service and sales support and measures success by how well it is able to execute that directive. Richlund Ventures is uniquely positioned through the Compact Appliance.com website to take advantage of emerging growth trends such as retiring baby boomers downsizing their living spaces and the worldwide move towards more environmentally conscious “green” appliances. The company is located in Austin, Texas.
About Demandware, Inc.
Demandware drives the success of high-growth brands with the only enterprise-class On-Demand eCommerce Platform that empowers merchandising and marketing talent with total control over the shopping experience and continuous competitive differentiation. Leading brands such as Bare Escentuals, House of Fraser, Playmobil, Sally Beauty Supply and Timberland leverage Demandware’s enterprise class eCommerce functionality and automatic upgrades to help achieve higher conversion rates, increase average order size, and improve customer retention. Demandware is the only on-demand eCommerce solution that enables the rapid rollout of new sites, provides ubiquitous access to business and technical users, and is backed by a patented grid computing architecture that delivers capacity as needed for performance and reliability that exceeds industry standards. For more information about Demandware, visit www.demandware.com, call 888-553-9216 or email info@demandware.com.
