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JUMP Magazine: Issue three
JUMP is Econsultancy's multichannel magazine in support of the multichannel event, JUMP, which takes place on 12 October 2011. In this third issue of JUMP Magazine we focus on a number of areas that will help you to join up your business, including optimising your mobile strategy, a guide to location-based marketing, using offline ads to drive online activity, and how to make the most out of your data.
server at Econsultancy
11 October 2000 16:35pm
The sad news that another on-line only retailer Boxman has stop trading is beginning to put waves through the online store market and personally makes me start to question whether this is just the tip of the wave of change.
Boxman, who did quite a good job of both their online store and their marketing, have been unable to get more funding to keep their company running and so are forced to shut their doors. The worry is that these were the good guys - it doesn't bode well for the not-so-good sites on the web.
Is the ability to sell goods purely online now proving to be just not profitable? Is all the money poured into these companies based on predicted future returns all going down the drain?
Personally I'm slightly nervous...
Digital Lead, Asia Pacific at Ogilvy
16 October 2000 14:55pm
I agree, sad and shocking, but inevitable! Of the numeous closures that we will see in the next months I think it is important to make a distinction. Those sites that deserve to close and those that don't.
I have long envied Boxman's European infrastructure and expansion. I ask myself "Why can't I seem to justify such expenditiure at current level of sales?"
Ignoring the "it's okay to be wise in hindsight" attack, I think it's worth looking at each business individually before getting too scared. Boxman had a major European infrastructure which had no floodgates that it could open and close to control its burn rate. There is simply not the level of transactions to support such a large cost structure.
Forgive me for stepping out of line, but I hear through Bathwick and various journalists that Boxman was well managed and had a strong business model. Who are they trying to kid? Either investors are given the full picture of expenditure and income and realistic sales projections are set... or else something is being mismanaged.
Keep your growth and expenditure in line with the market, don't believe your own hype and ensure your investors are close to your business, and you shuold have little to worry about.
The clearest trend that Boxman's unfortunate closure should set is the demise of heavily discounted low margin products.
On 16:35:17 11 October 2000 anonymous wrote:
>The sad news that another on-line only retailer Boxman has
>stop trading is beginning to put waves through the online
>store market and personally makes me start to question
>whether this is just the tip of the wave of change.
>
>Boxman, who did quite a good job of both their online
>store and their marketing, have been unable to get more
>funding to keep their company running and so are forced to
>shut their doors. The worry is that these were the good
>guys - it doesn't bode well for the not-so-good sites on
>the web.
>
>Is the ability to sell goods purely online now proving to
>be just not profitable? Is all the money poured into these
>companies based on predicted future returns all going down
>the drain?
>
>Personally I'm slightly nervous...