Ebuyer
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry |
Computers Computer Hardware Software Electronics Consumer Goods |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Howden, East Yorkshire, England, UK |
| Products | Computer hardware, software, peripherals, gaming, electronics, accessories, DVDs and more |
| Revenue | GB£220 Million (2005) |
| Employees | 300+ (2005) |
| Website | http://www.ebuyer.com |
Ebuyer is an electronic commerce retailer based in East Yorkshire in England Howden. It is the largest independent online retailer of computer and electrical goods in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
History
Founded in November 2000 in Sheffield by Paul Cusack, Mike Naylor, Steve Kay, Neeraj Patel, and Adam Ashmore - with startup capital of £250,000 from Paul Cusack, its annual turnover was in excess of £220 million by September 2005.[1] It claims to be the UK's largest independent online retailer of computers, components and electronics.
Investments
In February 2006 Ebuyer closed its Sheffield, Eastrington, and Holbrook outlets[2] to move to 280,000-square-foot (26,000 m2) custom-built premises in Howden. The new premises features a warehouse with over 4 miles of conveyor belt and an automated order system that takes an average 15 minutes to select and pack one order. Ebuyer spent £17m developing the warehouse. It opened its US facility in February 2003, but this arm of the business closed in 2006.[3]
Ebuyer began building another warehouse in Howden alongside its existing one in December 2007. The new facility was completed in November 2008 and will help with storage for other items such as kitchens, as part of their new sister company, Wren Kitchens.
Spinoffs, Acquisitions and Related Companies
Paul Cusack, the creator of Ebuyer (UK) Ltd, also helped to establish UK broadband suppler Plusnet.[3] Cusack later went on to co-found Localphone Ltd.
Merchant Partnerships
Ebuyer has a number of strategic business partnerships in place, most notably with Hewlett Packard (HP Preferred Partner 2010). Other partners include Microsoft, Toshiba and Sony. Ebuyer sponsored The Kingston Communications Stadium's west stand in Hull, East Yorkshire. They were also in an advertising partnership with Screwfix Direct, with promotions appearing on each other's offer newsletter. The value of the Ebuyer brand is often utilised by other companies, such as Shebang who licensed the name and website aesthetics for the EbuyerMobile website.
Business Results
| Year | Profit | Turnover |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | £2,147,498 | £242,397,712 |
| 2009 | £1,590,009 | £233,196,301 |
| 2008 | £-3,989,971 | £319,667,845 |
| 2007 | £3,180,772 | £212,480,082 |
| 2006 | £-6,216,000 | £191,494,000 |
| 2005 | £-8,802,342 | £192,255,073 |
| 2004 | £-5,676,247 | £129,432,966 |
| 2003 | ? | £126,000,000[4] |
Website
The Ebuyer website is the 206th most visited site in the United Kingdom[5] and has 3 million registered customers.
Customer service
During 2005 Ebuyer had significant customer service problems. Sheffield Trading Standards received 282 complaints about the company, and the customer service phone number had been removed from its website. After this, the firm promised to improve its service, and restored the customer service number to its site. Average daily telephone wait times are published. [6]
Ebuyer is also noted for using the couriers City Link and Parcelforce. Reports were made by customers in July and August 2010 of difficulties with incomplete shipping labels being generated, leading to delays in deliveries.
In December 2009 Ebuyer set up a direct email address for customers to reach the company Operations Directors Armando Sanchez. In December 2010, Mr Sanchez also launched a personal Twitter account for customers to contact him directly.
Security
In July 2008, Gavin Brent, from Holywell in Flintshire, North Wales admitted stealing goods worth £20,000 from the firm before returning the goods, and demanding full refunds.[7] Brent, whose suspicious transactions were spotted by Ebuyer's security team, went on to conduct an online campaign against the company and the investigation. This included menacing Ebuyer staff and a police officer from Brent's now-defunct blog.[8]
Controversy
On November 28, 2011, eBuyer ran a £1 promotion via email, offering new deals on the hour until midnight. eBuyer angered customers when their website was unable to handle the extra traffic, causing it to crash.[9] When the website did work, many customers were emailed after successfully ordering and paying for items, only to be told they were out of stock. Many customers vented their anger at the company on their Facebook page, however eBuyer ran a campaign on their customer forums in an attempt to counter the bad publicity.
References
- ↑ "Etailers eat away at Dixons". The Guardian. 2005-09-22. Retrieved 2007-03-03.
- ↑ "Ebuyer lines up new £19m headquarters". Yorkshire Post. 2005-12-12. Retrieved 2007-03-03.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Net gains for online retailer". Yorkshire Post. 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2007-03-03.
- ↑ http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/business-news/ebuyer_lines_up_new_163_19m_headquarters_1_2593359
- ↑ http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/ebuyer.com
- ↑ "Ebuyer promises to be better". Channel Register. 2005-07-21. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ↑ "Hacker admits online shop thefts". BBC. 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
- ↑ "Blogger fined for 'menacing' rant". BBC. 2008-04-29. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ↑ Kunert, Paul (30 Nov 2011). "eBuyer £1 sale fail: Customers vent fury... on Facebook". The Channel (The Register). Retrieved 2012-10-15.