In a contract valued at €2m, Irish online retail player Buy4Now has secured a deal to provide Ireland’s newest mobile operator 3 with a direct internet sales channel. The managed services deal comprises website hosting, business software, call centre services and the delivery of 3 handsets to end customers.
In addition to hosting 3’s e-commerce website on Buy4Now servers, Buy4Now has designed 3’s retail site and provided end-to-end software that will allow 3 to process orders received through the internet and see them through to distribution.
The contract includes the provision of telesales software and call centre services for 3. Subsidiary company, Buy4Now Logistics, will also act as the delivery partner to 3 in Ireland.
The contract encompasses all parts of Buy4Now’s software and services division, Buy4Now e-tail solutions. For 3, Buy4Now will also provide several managed services: helpdesk, content management and search-engine optimisation.
Bob Fuller, CEO of 3 Ireland, commented: “Through our Buy4Now-powered website www.three.ie, 3 has made it very simple for Irish consumers to take advantage of the best 3G handset and tariff deals on the market today. Customers can choose from a range of simple, clear price plans from €25 per month for 200 any time, any network minutes, including lots of great 3G video content at no extra cost. Also, we are offering exclusive online-only deals on the latest 3G handsets starting at just €19 for the NEC 338 and service bundles.”
Established in 2000, Buy4Now posted a profit of €155k for the financial year ended 31 March, 2004. Turnover for the period was €3.4m. Building on its experience with the anchor tenant of the Buy4Now portal, Superquinn, the company last October forged a partnership with one of the largest grocery chains in the US, A&P, in a contract valued at €4m. The company, which employs more than 60 people, is headquartered in Sandyford, Dublin, with its US office based in Long Island.
“Using our expertise as e-commerce specialists, 3 is ideally positioned to compete effectively against the existing mobile operators and build market share through the exploitation of the web as a direct sales channel,” commented Buy4Now founder and CEO Ali Murdoch.
By John Kennedy
