The online store will be the primary destination for Games enthusiasts and sports fans across the UK and beyond to purchase official Olympic and Paralympic merchandise. The shop will feature thousands of London 2012 products from clothing and collectables to toys and soft furnishings.

Founded in 2007, eCommera is a UK-based provider of e-commerce services and consultancy to the retail industry. eCommera serves over 20 major retailers and employs more than 70 people.

The online store will be built on eCommera’s CoreCommerce Platform to provide an end-to-end enterprise grade platform that can cope with the scale and complexity of operating a global business.

LOCOG Commercial Director Chris Townsend commented, “This is a major appointment for us. The online retail channel is a new and exciting revenue opportunity for us and eCommera are providing a fantastic solution to our needs – one which is highly scalable, flexible providing a functionally rich online store. eCommera join our growing team of licensees and will play a major role in people’s experience of London 2012. The online shop will give people all over the UK the opportunity to have a lasting memento of London 2012.”

Andrew McGregor, CEO eCommera comments, “This is a significant opportunity for eCommera to launch and run the most high-profile online store for some years. Whilst interest in the London 2012 store will inevitably be high, we have to ensure that this interest translates into significant profit and makes the online store a commercial success for LOCOG, thereby helping to fund the staging of the Games. We are very proud to have been selected to be part of this flagship event and look forward to working with LOCOG and its stakeholders to realise this opportunity.”

The London 2012 online store will launch in spring 2010 in most major global markets.

What major trends are you seeing in the e-commerce software space?
It’s only a matter of time before all e-commerce solutions are offered as software-as-a-service (SaaS) - we’re within sight of it now when you see that John Lewis has 85 developers whereas House of Fraser has just one in-house because it’s all managed with us. It’s an interesting inflection point. The top 1,000 e-commerce sites all had to bolt together a set of different components: product data management tools, image management tools, email management systems, web shops, web analytics and so on. Today every individual component is available as SaaS somewhere, but it takes people like us to sit on the top of it all and bring it together as a solution.

So how far away are we from a Salesforce.com of e-commerce?
We’re probably five years away from one vendor with one platform that can deliver everything - a Salesforce.com style hub that allows lots of widgets to plug into it. Demandware is probably the leading contender for such a SaaS e-commerce hub.

What is your advice for retailers trying to maximise their online presence?
They should take a holistic approach to e-commerce because so many things can go wrong. Technology is never a reason for success but often a reason for failure. In the physical world it’s all about location but online retailers have to rethink their proposition and a lot of them go wrong because they take the physical store proposition and try to shove it online. Others go wrong because they are over or under ambitious - they want to be the largest store online but don’t invest enough. The smarter retailers really want to understand what’s going on to ascertain whether they should invest in more people, a new platform or just a bit of marketing spend. They’ll think about what sort of data they need - web analytics is great but it only tells you what’s going on on the web site, not what’s going on with the customer experience, profitability or other important factors. Profit per order is the best KPI [key performance indicator] - it’s a fundamental metric.

Is delivery still a major problem for e-retailers?
Yes. But again it’s about getting the metrics right; it’s about delivering when you promised - when that order was placed online, when did the customer think they were going to receive it and when did they actually receive it. The Royal Mail is merrily committing suicide. Most retailers now have alternatives to them, there are enough good second-tier carriers around - ultimately it may cost the customers a bit more but they will be prepared to pay a bit more to get their goods on time. How the delivery problem will get fixed is unclear. If high street rents keep going down and retailers keep going out of business we could see 24×7 collection points springing up in the high street. Maybe the privatisation of the Royal Mail will finally provide the catalyst for reinventing delivery.

25th November, 2009: eCommera, the UK-based provider of e-commerce services to the retail industry, has secured £1.3 million in investment from private equity group ePlanet. This latest round of funding takes the total raised by eCommera in 2009 to over £6 million and secures its position as one of the best funded ecommerce providers in Europe. The funding will go towards driving the geographic expansion of eCommera with an initial focus on Europe.

This latest injection of funding comes just two months after eCommera secured funding of £5 million from an investment group led by growth capital investor, Frog Capital in conjunction with West Coast Capital and GP Bullhound.

Founded in 2007 by Michael Ross, online entrepreneur and founder of highly successful online fashion retailer Figleaves.com, and ex-BT marketing director, Andrew McGregor, eCommera helps large retailers such as Asda and House of Fraser to establish and run profitable online retail operations.

ePlanet has a successful track record of investing in successful, growing tech companies. Including Baidu, the leading Chinese search engine, and Skype. Dennis Atkinson, ePlanet partner: “eCommera has already made significant in-roads into the online retail market and is working with some of the biggest retail brands in the country. Together with the other investors we look forward to helping them to realise the global opportunity for their business.”

Andrew McGregor, CEO and co-founder of eCommera: “Completing this further round of investment is a significant milestone for the company and adds further weight to our belief that eCommera is unique in the market and that our business model is solid and robust. Our ecommerce dashboard and enterprise class Software as a Service (SaaS) platform helps large global retailers to navigate to profit and growth without the distraction and high cost of managing technology. Just as retailers do not tend to own and build their own high street stores, so we believe the same model will emerge online.”

With its focus on delivering business insight and consultancy as well as the supporting technology, eCommera today serves over 20 major retailers, and has over 70 staff, many of whom are veterans from the e-commerce industry from companies like Arcadia, Tesco, Fish 4, Dell and Harrods.

21st September, 2009: eCommera, the UK-based provider of e-commerce services to the retail industry, has secured second round funding of £5 million from an investment group led by growth capital investor, Frog Capital and existing shareholder West Coast Capital. eCommera was advised by GP Bullhound.

Founded in 2007 by Michael Ross, online entrepreneur and founder of highly successful online fashion retailer Figleaves.com, and ex-BT marketing director, Andrew McGregor, eCommera helps large retailers such as Asda and House of Fraser to establish and run profitable online retail operations. The funding will be used to expand the company’s services and geographical reach.

eCommera’s CoreTrader service is an analytical dashboard that helps retailers understand what the drivers of profit and growth are in the highly competitive world of online commerce. The eCommera CoreCommerce Platform is an e-commerce trading platform, delivered over the internet that enables retailers to act on that insight and build a profitable ecommerce operation. Alongside the core technology platforms, eCommera also provides associated online retail consulting services via a team of e-commerce experts.

“In the early days businesses only had to be online to succeed, and sales increased year after year as more and more shoppers moved from the high-street to the Web” said Michael Ross, director and co-founder of eCommera. “Now, with more choice than ever for consumers, retailers need to understand how the dynamics of online retail differ in order to compete effectively and ensure that online operations are profitable and not just pretty Web-based shop windows. Even some very established and successful retailers are struggling to make that transition and are coming under increasing pressure.”

“Closing this second-funding round in an uncertain market is a considerable achievement,” said Andrew McGregor, CEO and co-founder of eCommera. “This demonstrates the soundness of our business model and proposition. Our ecommerce dashboard and enterprise class Software as a Service (SaaS) platform helps large global retailers to navigate to profit and growth without the distraction and high cost of managing technology. Just as retailers do not tend to own and build their own high street stores, so we believe the same model will emerge online.”

With its focus on delivering business insight and consultancy as well as the supporting technology, eCommera today serves over 20 major retailers, and has over 70 staff, many of whom are veterans from the e-commerce industry from companies like - Arcadia, Tesco, Fish 4, Dell and Harrods.

“eCommera has found a highly attractive sweet-spot. Ecommerce is now critical to retailers, and the eCommera service directly meets their needs. The front line ‘been there, done it’ experience of the eCommera team is unsurpassed in Europe,” say Mike Reid, managing partner at Frog Capital. “With several deal wins this year already, and more to come, this business has great momentum.”

“The company has performed very strongly since our original investment and is a great example of how a combination of industry expertise and technology innovation can deliver a compelling proposition to the retail market. A significant portion of our portfolio is in retail so eCommera is a great fit strategically,” said Paul Davidson, partner at West Coast Capital.

The shareholders of eCommera are West Coast Capital, Frog Capital, GP Bullhound and management.

Since 1996, technology industry executives, investors, and strategists have valued the Red Herring 100 lists as an instrument for discovering and advocating the most promising private ventures.





Andrew McGregor, eCommera chief executive, says: “The work we do is at the forefront of ecommerce and our track record is second to none. We are delighted to be recognised by Red Herring as one of the fastest growing technology providers in our industry. We are looking forward to building on our success to date and making a real impact to set new precedents in eCommerce around the world.”





eCommera boasts an enviable client list, including Asda Direct, House of Fraser, Hamleys, USC, Flying Flowers and Wyevale Garden Centres.





Recent recruits bring the eCommera team to just short of 50 as eCommera gears up for another busy year. With forecasters predicting that what little growth the retail sector will see this year will come from the web channel, eCommera is busy helping clients maximise the opportunity at minimal cost.





Andrew says: “Our solutions deliver record returns on investment. We have the best people and the best solutions and as a result within two short years eCommera has become a leading player in the retail web services sector.”





For more information, please contact Nadine Sharara at Press@eCommera.co.uk or call 0208 291 5800.





Editors’ notes





eCommera was set up in January 2007 by Michael Ross, co-founder and former ceo of figleaves.com, and Andrew McGregor, former marketing director at BT, to offer a comprehensive e-tail solution to clients. It is staffed by e-tail veterans from the biggest names in ecommerce including figleaves.com, net-a-porter, Tesco.com, Sky Interactive, Harrods.com, Amazon, the Easy Group and Fish4.

The company uses proprietary benchmarks and frameworks as well as best of breed third-party technology to help clients focus and navigate the path to e-tail success.





eCommera’s vision is to offer retailers the support, software and partners to help them realize the true potential of multi channel retail. This is achieved through the delivery of advice, the platform, and eco-system of suppliers. Together these services will deliver success for businesses for whom online is a critical channel now or in the future.





The eCommera platform combines best of breed components from Demandware, Scene7, Coremetrics and Sterling Commerce. It is designed to be fully scalable to meet the demands of medium and large customers. This platform already powers the ecommerce businesses for leading etailers including House of Fraser, Hamleys, Wyevale Garden Centres, Asda and Flying Brands.





For more information about eCommera, visit www.ecommera.com, call +44 207 291 5800 or email info@ecommera.co.uk

Online retail is showing a welcome resilience in 2009 as sales continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate than in previous years. But as the economy continues to weaken the battleground for online supremacy is shifting. Retailers can no longer rely on market growth to deliver sales growth and on-going success will depend on maximising conversion and repeat purchase rates.

Michael Ross, director and co-founder of eCommera, says: “Many online retailers have enjoyed flattering growth powered by the growing online market and discounting, but from the start of 2009 the intense competition and the adverse economic climate have meant retailers have had to work harder to sustain these growth rates. Today it is not just about having a web site and seeing the sales roll in, it’s about having the right processes and systems to convert traffic and raise repeat purchase rates. Without them, retailers will lose sales to rivals, which in this environment could be fatal.”

To help retailers understand the fundamental differences between selling online and traditional retail and eCommera has put together our top 5 tips to help retailers get in right in 2009. Success will be about focus and control of the site every day, intelligent use of data and detail and a differentiated offer. These elements are now the basics for ecommerce and those retailers that grasp this will pull away from the rest of the online pack.

eCommera’s top 5 tips for getting the processes right:

1. Differentiate - Replicating your store proposition online is not a winning strategy. Retailers need to be clear about how they are going to differentiate on the Google high street.

2. Measure - Online throws up lots of data but just because you can measure an element it doesn’t mean it is important. Too few players measure effectively and when they think they do, are unable to determine whether their measure is good or bad.

3. Focus not HIPPO - Many levers can be pulled and the challenge is to make the right and most effective changes based on data, not on the whims of the highest paid person’s opinion.

4. Trade - Trade the site every day just as a store manager does. Too often retailers are unable or fail to trade their sites: promotions, positioning products, managing sort orders, dressing the home page and key landing pages, managing bids on Google all need to be addressed daily.

5. People -There is a dearth of online experience but critical to success is ensuring that you have the right people at the right level aligned with the right measures.

For more information, please contact Sophy Buckley on 01980 590802 or 07968 975694 or press@ecommera.co.uk

Editors’ notes

eCommera was set up in January 2007 by Michael Ross, co-founder and former ceo of figleaves.com, and Andrew McGregor, former marketing director at BT, to offer a comprehensive e-tail solution to clients. It is staffed by e-tail veterans from the biggest names in ecommerce including figleaves.com, net-a-porter, Tesco.com, Sky Interactive, Harrods.com, Amazon, the Easy Group and Fish4.

The company uses proprietary benchmarks and frameworks as well as best-of-breed third-party technology to help clients focus and navigate the path to e-tail success.

The eCommera platform combines best-of-breed components from Demandware, Scene7, Coremetrics and Sterling Commerce. It is designed to be fully scalable to meet the demands of medium and large customers. This platform already powers the ecommerce businesses for leading etailers including House of Fraser, Hamleys, Wyevale Garden Centres, Asda and Flying Brands.

Michael Ross, co-founder and director of eCommera, has just returned from speaking at this year’s Shop.org where he shared his experience and knowledge of breaking into new markets and offered advice to some of the US’s biggest retailers looking to expand into Europe.

Michael introduced the conference to eCommera’s unique 10Ps checklist of elements a retailer needs to consider when reviewing or setting up an online channel.

He told delegates: “Online retailing is hard. It’s harder than traditional retailing because it’s new and it has far more moving parts. It throws up more data and more detail which needs to be assessed and prioritised. It sounds simple but it is not and the key to success is knowing what’s important and what’s not. eCommera’s 10Ps show you where to look, how to measure performance and how to get the priorities right whether you are in the US, Europe or Asia.”

Shop.org is the biggest ecommerce event in the world and delegates come from all the big names in US retailing, including Walmart, Neiman Marcus, Sears, Gap etc etc. With the economic slowdown biting and technology largely commoditised, the focus for these retailers was how to maintain growth.

Michael says: “They are looking for ways to offset the slowdown in the US and see Europe as a market with plenty of scope for growth. These days having a decent website and fulfilment centre isn’t enough and the successful ones will be the those who understand that the focus has moved on from having the best technology to having the best marketing and merchandising.”

For more information about the 10Ps, please email press@ecommera.co.uk

Editors’ notes

eCommera was set up in January 2007 by Michael Ross, co-founder and former ceo of figleaves.com, and Andrew McGregor, former marketing director at BT, to offer a comprehensive e-tail solution to clients. It is staffed by e-tail veterans from the biggest names in ecommerce including figleaves.com, net-a-porter, Tesco.com, Sky Interactive, Harrods.com, Amazon, the Easy Group and Fish4.

The company uses proprietary benchmarks and frameworks as well as best-of-breed third-party technology to help clients focus and navigate the path to e-tail success.

The eCommera platform combines best-of-breed components from Demandware, Scene7, Coremetrics and Sterling Commerce. It is designed to be fully scalable to meet the demands of medium and large customers. This platform already powers the ecommerce businesses for leading etailers including House of Fraser, Hamleys, Wyevale Garden Centres, Asda and Flying Brands.

eCommera has started 2009 by welcoming two new members of staff to its London office, both of whom bring top-level multi-channel retail experience and first-hand knowledge of the ecommerce coalface.


Peter Medcalf is a Prologic veteran, with 12 years of retail project management and account management experience and joins eCommera as a project manager. His experience takes in successfully developing and implementing bespoke retail IT and ecommerce solutions for a host of high-end retailers and designers.
Jason Bramsden comes from eCommera strategic partner Sterling Commerce and has joined eCommera as a solutions strategist. Jason has worked in multi-channel retailing and the supply chain for 11 years, helping build solutions for a number of international retailers and lifestyle companies including DSGi , Home Retail Group and Reebok as well as GM, Unipart, Schneider Electric, Legrand and Renualt.


Jason and Peter are joining at an exciting time for eCommera, which continues to go from strength to strength. In the past year, eCommera has launched a number of top sites, including Asda Direct and USC and has a great pipeline of new clients and partnerships.


Andrew McGregor, eCommera chief executive, says: “The work we do is at the forefront of ecommerce and our track record is second to none. This means we attract the best names in the business. Both Jason and Peter bring great skills that will further strengthen our team and allow us to continue to ensure our clients get an unrivalled service.”


The latest recruits bring the eCommera team to just short of 50 and come as eCommera gears up for another busy year. With forecasters predicting that what little growth the retail sector will see this year will come from the web channel, eCommera is busy helping clients maximise the opportunity at minimal cost.


Andrew says: “Our solutions deliver record returns on investment. We have the best people and the best solutions and as a result within two short years eCommera has become a leading player in the retail web services sector.”


For more information, please contact Sophy Buckley at press@ecommera.co.uk or call her on 07968 975694


Editors’ notes
eCommera was set up in January 2007 by Michael Ross, co-founder and former ceo of figleaves.com, and Andrew McGregor, former marketing director at BT, to offer a comprehensive e-tail solution to clients. It is staffed by e-tail veterans from the biggest names in ecommerce including figleaves.com, net-a-porter, Tesco.com, Sky Interactive, Harrods.com, Amazon, the Easy Group and Fish4.

The company uses proprietary benchmarks and frameworks as well as best of breed third-party technology to help clients focus and navigate the path to e-tail success.
The eCommera platform combines best of breed components from Demandware, Scene7, Coremetrics and Sterling Commerce. It is designed to be fully scalable to meet the demands of medium and large customers. This platform already powers the ecommerce businesses for leading etailers including House of Fraser, Hamleys, Wyevale Garden Centres, Asda and Flying Brands.

eCommera marketing services’ clients include Shoe Studio Group and Goldmsiths as well as House of Fraser and Hamleys.

eCommera is an internet services business backed by West Coast Capital and BG Holding that offers advisory, support and software services to help retailers develop and operate world-class eCommerce businesses. The eCommera platform offers retailer’s flexibility and merchandising expertise, without the prohibitive upfront investment.

The eCommera focus is on building a successful business not just launching a good site, and our whole business is geared to supporting a retailer in life to ensure that year after year they continue to realise their potential in whichever market they trade.

Purpose of the Job

We are growing rapidly and are looking for a talented Web Designer / Developer.

The role will be responsible for working with other Web Designers / Developers to develop and maintain prominent retail websites.

Principal Responsibilities

Work as part of a small team of Web Designers / Developers to design and develop prominent retail websites. The Web Designer / Developer will liaise with the Project Manager, Business Analyst and Client Manager to turn design into reality.

Personal Specification

Experience

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience (be able to hand code) in the following:

• Solid design skills
• Artistic flair
• X/HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• XML
• AJAX
• Adobe Flash
• Photoshop

Whilst not essential knowledge of the following would be beneficial

• PHP
• MySQL
• Demandware
• Coremetrics
• Affiliate tagging
• eCommerce experience within Retail
• Client interaction and presentation skills

Other

Candidates must be:

• Confident and proactive
• Must be self-motivated and disciplined and able to work on own initiative
• Will be committed to the achievement of excellence

Package

Competitive. Position reports to the Head Of Development.