March/April 2003

The appeal of getting the same supplier to build a retail Web site and handle fulfilment from it has persuaded a new Web site Dot2Shop to choose Amethyst Group for both jobs.

Dot2Shop, which went live in March, sells electronic gadgets, gifts and games online. The range is known in some quarters as "big boys' toys", or what founder Stuart Reed describes as "the hottest gifts and the coolest experiences."

 

The company seems to have learned the lessons of earlier entrants into the online market, and is putting emphasis right from the start on ease of arranging delivery and returns (in fact returns get more prominence on the home page than outward deliveries).

Customers are offered same-day despatch of goods ordered by 2pm, and free delivery on orders worth over £100. Otherwise the handling fee is a flat £3.95, which applies both to the UK and to the Continent.

Transport is handled by Royal Mail recorded delivery or courier, and Dot2Shop is insisting on getting a signature for all deliveries; but it offers the option of delivery to the workplace or an alternative address to smooth the process.

Amethyst has provided both the Web site and the fulfilment operation on a pay-as-you-go basis, freeing Dot2Shop from the need for high capital investment.

Reed himself is from a retail background, and says he is awake to the pitfalls of online selling. "Product selection is critical," he says, but adds that a key differentiator is "truly satisfying the customer."

Amethyst offers a variety of supply-chain services for dotcom and conventional customers. It is jointly owned by Itochu and Inchcape. A key reference site in the e-fulfilment market has been Arbiter, supplier of Fender guitars, for which again the group has handled both Web development and fulfilment.