SaaS Featured Article

Mercado (News - Alert), an eCommerce solution provider, has announced that Gordian Project recently launched its newest eCommerce site OutdoorPros.com. This new site uses Mercado’s search, navigation and merchandizing SaaS (News - Alert) solution Mercado Ignition OnDemand.

 

OutdoorPros.com is a new vertical Web site operated by the same entrepreneurial management team that established PlumberSurplus.com, named one of Internet Retailers Hot 100 Sites for 2008, a MCM Award Winner for Web Channel 2008 and a Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards finalists for 2007.

 

The newly launched site specializes in outdoor apparel, camping gear, tactical gear and gifts. Since the launch the company has seen significant traffic increases and reports impressive early sales growth.

 

The availability and popularity of on-demand solutions has helped to drive a strategy implemented by numerous SMBs where an existing successful online retail model is leveraged and then diversified by expanding into new product offerings and new markets.
One example of this successful strategy is PlumberSurplus.com.
 
Launching the PlumberSurplus.com site in 2004, Gordian Project’s Managing Partner Timothy Jackson and Vanessa Hofmann, Merchandising and Public Relations Team Leader, felt it was the perfect time to launch a new site. Based on input from the rest of their team, OutdooePros.com was born.

 

By relying on Mercado’s SaaS solution, Hofmann and her team were able to quickly and cost effectively leverage the successful PlumberSurplus.com marketing platform, and launch their new brand and product portfolio with minimal effort. Hofmann refers to this approach as the “control c, control v” strategy.
 
“By combining our custom eCommerce platform with Mercado’s powerful site search, navigation and merchandising platform, we had developed a very successful business model that we knew could scale to multiple verticals,” commented Hofmann in a Thursday statement.

 

Hofmann continued: “To launch our new brand, we developed a new look and feel, and inserted our new products and product categories into our existing eCommerce platform – from which Mercado drives the site search and merchandising capabilities.”

 

“We truly believe in the advantages of Mercado’s SaaS solution, and appreciate the flexibility it gives us as a business.” Boosted by their success with both sites, Jackson and Hofmann are now working to identify promising new retail segments to enter early next year, Hofmann added.
 
“I’m continually impressed by the business acumen and creativity of today’s SMB online retailers. Sites like OutdoorPros.com are great examples of replicable online models, making use of SaaS to scale and grow,” said Corey Leibow (News - Alert), President and CEO of Mercado, in Thursday’s statement. “The combination of retailing savvy, great on-demand technology and a little bullishness is a recipe for growth and profits. Mercado looks forward to continuing to play a vital role in Gordian Project’s online strategy as they add new brands to their portfolio.”

Consumers are increasingly turning to online options for research and purchasing of must-have products. As such, the competition for the online consumer dollar is intensifying, requiring that online retailers take a strategic approach to their offerings or risk obsolescence.

Mercado has done well to understand the approach necessary to not only emerge a leader in the online market, but also how to extend that same strategy into other sites. This continued successful run for the company will help extend its reach and strengthen its market positioning.