BuildDirect
 | |
| Home Improvement E-Tailer | |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia |
Key people | Jeff Booth CEO |
| Website | www.builddirect.com |
BuildDirect is a Canadian e-commerce company headquartered in Vancouver, BC Canada. It is one of the fastest growing online building materials and home improvement products retailer. BuildDirect.com was founded in 1999 by Jeff Booth and Rob Banks. The company was initially selling home building materials, and it has now diversified into selling other home product needs such as furniture, landscaping and outdoor living items.[1][2][3]
History
Jeff Booth started the company to bring the same convenience for obtaining building supplies as e-commerce had brought to other products. [1][2][4] The firm reported $1 million in revenue in 2002, which increased to $28 million in 2004. After the a housing market crash in 2006, the company nearly went out of business. [5] It survived by persuading manufacturers to give the firm their product on consignment. [5][6] In 2012,the firm obtained 30 million in investor funding from American and Canadian venture capital firms. [7]
Use of technology
BuildDirect uses its proprietary technology and data analytics to better understand the market demand.[1][2][8]
Initially BuildDirect had problems using current major logistics companies as these do not offer economical shipping solutions for shipping items which weigh more than 150 pounds (68 kg). To overcome this, BuildDirect had to build its own proprietary solution to work with the logistics partners.[1][2]
Locations
There are 12 warehouse locations across Canada and the United States, while the company headquarters is located in Vancouver, BC.[9]
Awards
- 2006 - British Columbia Export Awards: Named as one of the top 24 exporters in B.C. and the top exporter in the Professional and Services category.[10]
- 2012 - Nominated for a JDR award - which honors the best blogs in the design and remodeling industry - for their "green" blog.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Waddell, Nick (November 27, 2012). "Jeff Booth, CEO of BuildDirect, talks to Cantech Letter - Cantech Letter". cantech. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Deveau, Denise (October 22, 2012). "Use analytics to build your business". Financial Post. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ "Canadian Company Capabilities - BuildDirect". Industry Canada. December 3, 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ Shaw, Gillian (January 21, 2014). "BuildDirect gets $30-million financing to fuel expansion - Vancouver Sun". vancouver sun. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Holliday, Brent (June 4, 2012). "BuildDirect: A Case Study in Perseverance". Financial Post. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ↑ Rockel, Nick (26 February 2013). "Building on Big Data". Financial Post. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ↑ Dobby, Christine (June 25, 2012). "OMERS Ventures puts $16M into Vancouver e-commerce company BuildDirect". Financial Post. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ "Learn How Google Analytics Helped BuildDirect Increase Sales By 50%". Google. June 11, 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ↑ "Contact Us Page". BuildDirect. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ↑ Brodie, David (13 December 2006). "BuildDirect Awarded for Exporting Excellence". PR Web. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ↑ "2012 JDR Industry Blogger Awards". Jackson Design & Remodeling. 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2014.