New York, NY (1888PressRelease)
December 13, 2008 - In a move to better serve the North American marketplace and grow their successful brand abroad, online gift retailer LatestBuy.com.au has recently launched LatestBuy.com in the US, going against the current downsizing trend of other businesses faced with the slow down in global spending.
Founded by brothers Shaun and Darren Campbell in 2003 with just one computer, one phone and one room, LatestBuy is now a leading online gift retailer in Australia, offering engaging and highly desirable gifts sourced from around the world, including functional homewares and gadgets, through to downright silly yet addictive novelties.
With a US operational base in New York state comprising warehousing, customer service and logistics, LatestBuy hopes to emulate their Australian success in the US.
The decision to set up a US base of operations was not made lightly, but research suggested that the odds of success were in LatestBuy’s favour. “Up to half of the traffic to our Australian website comes from the US, but due to unavoidable international shipping charges and transit times, we’re just not able to convert this traffic effectively. Our US operational hub together with our recently re-designed and re-developed shopping cart technology will drive more eyeballs to both LatestBuy.com and LatestBuy.com.au, which is still used as the ‘international’ domain. US and Canadian customers can speak to someone closer to their own timezone via live chat or by phone, as well as expect much faster (and cheaper) UPS and USPS shipping options” explains Director of Operations, Shaun Campbell.
LatestBuy prides itself on sourcing products from all around the world; products which have just been invented and launched in other markets or sought after products which are just in limited supply. This product differentiation strategy will continue to be a central theme in LatestBuy’s success globally. “Products like Le Glove, the Clever Peg, Countact Lens Cases and the 4GB USB Scent Drive are all exclusive lines in the US. With many other products being marketed on LatestBuy before any other retailer, our customers are accustomed to buying or seeing it first at LatestBuy”, says Director of Business Development, Darren Campbell.
While there is still a long way to go, early results have been promising, with orders being received almost immediately after the US site launch and the referral of traffic from LatestBuy.com.au.
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