Buy4Now bags second
US contract


19 Oct 2005

In a development marking its further expansion in the US marketplace, Irish online retail technology firm Buy4Now has secured a €2m contract to provide retailer Roche Brothers with the technology to operate an online grocery store in its Boston marketplace. It follows a similar contract with signed with A&P Group, one of the largest food retailers in the US, in 2004.

The three-year contract will see Buy4Now provide software and specialist consultancy services to Roche Brothers via its Buy4Now E-Tail Solutions arm, with the online offering going live on 2 November.

Rick Roche, president of Roche Brothers, said Buy4Now was selected on the basis of the quality of its software and its specialist experience in the e-grocery arena. “E-grocery is a key strategic development area for Roche Brothers and will become an important part of our overall customer offering. We chose Buy4Now following extensive market research and a consultancy exercise on the feasibility of launching an e-grocery business in the Boston marketplace.”

Buy4Now will supply the same software package that has proved successful in the Manhattan marketplace with the Food Emporium stores (part of the A&P Group) and in Ireland with Superquinn customers – the Shop4Now and OFS4Now application suite.

Under the terms of the contract, Buy4Now becomes the exclusive e-grocery partner with Roche Brothers. Buy4Now will host the new e-grocery site for Roche Brothers in Ireland and will also provide Roche Brothers with consultancy and business guidance, as well as providing the software solution.

Commenting, Ali Murdoch, chief executive of Buy4Now, said: “This is our second e-grocery solution in the US and we expect to announce and launch a third in the coming weeks. This makes Buy4Now a significant player in the US e-grocery business and validates our heavy investment in the e-business product suite. It is nice to see that Irish software companies can succeed in this the largest online marketplace and that Buy4Now’s decision to invest in our Buy4Now E-tail Solutions wing is proving very fruitful to date.”

Roche Brothers is a family-owned food retailer in Massachusetts with 18 stores in the Boston area. Using Buy4Now technology, Roche Bros will offer a full online delivery service throughout the Boston area and expects to see sales in excess of US$30m by the end of the third year.

Launched in August 2000, Buy4Now was founded by Murdoch and financially backed by Superquinn, Eircom, Heiton Group and a number of private investors. The company has its US headquarters in Long Island New York. With the support of Enterprise Ireland, Buy4Now invested in excess of €1m in enhancing its software products to enable the company to market itself to potential international clients. Its Buy4Now E-Tail Solutions software and services business sits in parallel with the Irish online shopping centre division.

By Brian Skelly