HAMBURG, GERMANY and NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Oct 11, 2012) - Hermes NexTec, a company of the Hermes Group specialized in e-commerce solutions, has set up a full service web shop for the US furniture and home accessory retailer Bombay Company. Following a six months implementation period, the site www.bombaycompany.com is now live and offers about 300 items including beds, chests and accessories. Founded in 1978, Bombay offers its customers worldwide classic style furniture and gifts.
The web launch is Bombay's initial foray into online sales since the brand's relaunch in 2010. Hermes provides a full range of services for the entire e-commerce value chain: while Hermes NexTec is responsible for setting up, operating and developing the web shop, the parent company Hermes Fulfilment provides the back-end processes such as warehousing, payment and debtor management, and customer service. Warehousing and Logistics in the US are handled by "Kenco Logistics."
"With Hermes, we have found the right e-commerce partner. This group offers a wide range of resources that ensure reliable service and delivery of products along the entire supply chain," explains Wil Hollands, who is heading up the Bombay brand. Up to this point, Bombay was exclusively sold through retailers, such as Bed, Bath & Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, QVC and others. "The new online presence provides customers the chance to shop for their favorite items 24/7 via the web," says Hollands. Adds Holger Lendner, CEO at Hermes NexTec: "We are fully committed to drive brand growth for Bombay in this highly competitive B2C environment. As a supply chain service provider to the retail industry, we bring in a long-standing experience in the fast growing fashion and lifestyle e-commerce business." Hermes belongs to the German Otto Group, an assembly of 123 retail and service companies and 50,000 employees worldwide which share extensive resources in the online retail industry. Next to Amazon, the Otto Group is the 2nd largest e-commerce retailer in the world.
The main focus in the shop development was placed on the creation of a user-friendly and attractive web shop that would match Bombay's image as a manufacturer of middle to top-end furniture designed in classic style. Coherent web design, high-quality product photography, intuitive navigation and flexible payment and delivery options all contributed to meeting Bombay's demands. Lendner: "We had to create a shop that is easy to use and appealing to the customer taking into consideration the different sales tax rates charged by each state. We therefore implemented a special tax engine to our highly flexible shop software which automatically adds the applicable tax to the shopping basket."
As part of its full-range service agreement, Hermes NexTec markets the shop in close collaboration with the Bombay team. The implementation of the full-service online shop solution for Bombay represents a further step in Hermes NexTec's international expansion into global e-commerce services. Hermes NexTec serves the US market via the Hermes Group's headquarters in Bentonville, AR.
About Hermes NexTec
Hermes NexTec and Hermes Fulfilment are international full-service providers for customers in the distance trading and e-commerce market. Together, they provide end-to-end services along the e-commerce value chain, including setting up and operating online shops, content management, IT management and marketing, warehousing, distribution, returns management, billing and call center services. Hermes NexTec primarily focuses on services covering the front-end of online shops for the fashion and lifestyle industries. Hermes Fulfilment manages all back-end processes.
Twelve specialized companies operate under the Hermes brand, all of which combine to offer a full range of services along the retail value chain to meet global demand. Experts in sourcing, transport logistics, fulfilment and distribution to the end customer, Hermes is the only service provider worldwide sufficiently well-positioned to offer such a full range of retail-related services. In financial year 2011/12 Hermes companies achieved consolidated revenues of 1.8 billion euros. At the same time, the number of employees with the Hermes Group rose to 11,011.