| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Jersey |
| Key people | Richard Goulding (Chairman) Simon Perrée (Managing director) |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | DVDs, music CDs, books, electronics, gadgets, music downloads, video games, clothes, accessories |
| Employees | 500 |
| Parent | Rakuten |
| Website | Play.com |
| Alexa rank | 1,221 (January 2012[update])[1] |
| Launched | 1998 |
Play Ltd.,[2] trading as Play.com, is a Jersey-based online retailer of DVDs, CDs, books, gadgets, video games, DRM-free MP3 downloads, and other electronic products, as well as clothes and accessories. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rakuten Group.[3]
Founded in 1998, Play.com was one of the first online retailers targeting the UK. It is the second biggest online retailer in the UK market, according to traffic monitor Hitwise, and it is in the top 50 globally. Play.com was ranked second on the November 2006 UK "Hot Shops List" compiled by IMRG and Hitwise.[4] Play.com has 7,000,000 registered customers, a catalogue of over 8,000,000 products, and it employs some 500 staff.[5]
On 15 January 2009, a survey published by Verdict Research found Play.com was the UK's second favourite music and video retailer, behind first place Amazon.co.uk and ahead of (now defunct) entertainment retailer Zavvi which was third.[6] On 24 February 2009, it was reported that Play.com had topped the National Consumer Satisfaction Index,[7][8] ahead of Amazon.co.uk and iTunes.
Contents |
Play.com was founded in 1998 under the name Play247.com, but re-branded as Play.com in 2000. Play.com originally sold region 1 and 2 DVDs only, but has since expanded its range to include CDs and video games and other electronic items. Since 2004 it has sold books and electronics, in 2006 it started selling personal computers, posters & T-Shirts and in 2007 it started selling HD DVDs and Blu-rays, with sister site PlayUSA.com selling region 1 DVDs, HD DVDs and region A Blu-ray Discs and offering sales in a range of currencies. The site's interface has been redesigned on a number of occasions, partly based upon customer feedback. The PlayUSA.com website was closed down in February 2011.
The site was originally popular because it stocked every DVD available and offered free delivery on all items. One of the reasons for its success with United Kingdom customers is that they can import items costing £18 and under without paying VAT.[9]
Play.com now has approximately 500 staff and 8,000,000 items for sale. A feature called PlayTrade allows third party sellers to operate on the site. When using Playtrade, a seller chooses either to pay a monthly subscription plus a percentage-based closing fee, or no subscription and a per-item flat closing fee plus percentage. As there are no listing fees, this second option allows sellers to set up with no upfront costs.
In 2008, Play.com started selling DRM-free MP3s, clothing, accessories, and tickets for events, allowing customers to buy and sell tickets. They also held a consumer games show which was open to the public, with tickets available through Play.com. This event was backed by Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Activision, and THQ among others.[10]
May 2009 saw Play.com launch their own Visa credit card in partnership with MBNA. The card holder will earn PlayPoints for any purchase they make - these can then be redeemed against anything for sale on the Play.com website. Although it can be used for any purchases, if used on the Play.com website the card holder earns two PlayPoints for every £1 (GBP) spent; any other purchases outside of the website sees one PlayPoint awarded per £1 (GBP) spent (1000 PlayPoints = £10 Play.com gift voucher).[11][12]
In September 2011, Japan-based Rakuten, Inc. purchased Play.com for £25million.[13]