Virgin Retail Strengthens Online Presence by Constructing New Ecommerce Platform
Press Dispensary - March 13, 2007 - Virgin Retail has announced plans for a complete revamp of its online offering, virginmegastores.co.uk. Virgin Retail is working with digital agency, Underwired to create the new Virgin Megastore website, which will be live by late summer 2007.
Virgin Retail has engaged Underwired to redesign the website with the key aims of combining simplicity and usability with Virgin's authority in entertainment to deliver a great user experience.
Other agencies involved are retail and ecommerce consultancy, Javelin Group, which manages the selection process of agencies to produce a new ecommerce platform and redesign for Virgin Retail. Virgin Retail has also selected companies Hybris and Mercado to help create the new website.
Underwired’s creative director, Jason Holland, commented, "I've always had the greatest respect for the Virgin Megastores brand, and even worked for them as a student in Newcastle, so getting my hands dirty strengthening its online web presence is very exciting.
“The key words for this design brief are ‘clarity’ and ‘simplicity’. We want to make the whole selection and interactive experience fun and enjoyable, but above all it has to feel clear and easy to use."
Commenting on the project, Tony Stockil, CEO, Javelin Group says, "This is one of the most significant ecommerce developments in the UK.
“Having helped Virgin select an excellent suite of ecommerce applications, we are currently implementing these to provide a market-leading transactional web site in this highly competitive sector."
Software supplier Hybris was chosen to develop the overall ecommerce platform because of its strength in product information management, which is crucial for sites with large product catalogues such as virginmegastores.co.uk. Hybris will also ensure ease of use for managing the merchandising and promotional elements of the site.
Andrew Piscina, UK country manager for Hybris: says "As one of the leading vendors of ecommerce in Europe, we are very happy to be working with Virgin and our partners in creating one of the most ground-breaking online stores for their customers. We will be providing Virgin with a state-of-the-art ecommerce platform which will enable them to take full advantage of the much talked about Web 2.0 capabilities. This will provide Virgin's customers with an optimised on-line experience which, in turn, will serve to increase Virgin's revenue and improve brand empathy."
Ecommerce search and merchandising specialist Mercado was selected because of its expertise in best of breed search and navigation engines, which will enable customers to explore the huge virginmegastores.co.uk online catalogue with ease.
"Mercado has a strong track record of helping leading retail brands maximize revenue in the online channel," says Rich Beattie, vice president of Mercado Europe. "We're very excited to have been chosen by Virgin and look forward to contributing to their continued success."
In addition to the development of the new site, Virgin Retail is planning to increase the product breath of its CD, DVD and Games catalogue as well as taking additional entertainment related product and delivering rich media content to enhance customer experience.
The re-development of the website will also bring all website management and development in-house at Virgin Retail for the first time, with greater control and flexibility to build new features and functionality onto the platform. There will be an improved customer order system for all stores as part of the new site.
Virgin Retail has had a transactional website since September 2002 and in the last 12 months, in line with the market in general, has seen a surge in sales with Christmas rising by 191% on previous year. “The vastly improved site, geared towards the needs of today’s online customer will form a major pillar of Virgin’s multi-channel strategy”, comments Steve Kincaid, Virgin’s marketing & ecommence director.
- Ends -
For further information, please contact:
Felix Velarde, managing partner, Underwired
Tel: +44 (0) 207 012 3992
Email: felix@underwired.com
Site: www.underwired.com
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