Irish online retail portal Buy4Now has forecasted online revenues of €5.5m for the company over the Christmas period.
Revealing its prediction, the company said it has signed four new retail partners to its growing online retail operation. These include Appleby Jewellers, Discount Electrical, World of Wonder Toys and Diageo Ireland’s Wineroom.ie website.
Buy4 Now which began four years ago as an online retailer portal for major Irish brands such as Superquinn, Easons and Atlantic Homecare, made over 5,000 individual home deliveries during Christmas week alone last year, up 93pc on the previous year.
This year the company that was established by Ali Murdoch predicts its online shopping centre will have an increase in traffic to over 350,000 visitors over the month of December and membership numbers are expected to exceed 100,000 by year-end.
In addition to receiving a contribution for each transaction on each of the four new partners sites, Buy4Now will receive an additional management fee for the software licensing, hosting and ongoing development of the partners’ e-business initiatives.
This recurring income model, which is replicated through the majority of the company’s 19 retail partners, is critical to the ongoing financial success of Buy4Now.
“Buy4Now is looking forward to a bumper Christmas this year,” commented Murdoch. “We have proven our reliability in the Irish marketplace and I believe this has translated into the increased visitors and sales of our retail partners. Buy4Now is all about convenience and we are building a satisfied customer base who have experienced the benefits of ordering online.
“Buy4Now continues to strive to add new and interesting bricks and mortar retail partners to our growing range of online outlets. Increased customer choice for products and the convenience of having them delivered to Buy4Now to your door makes the Buy4Now experience unique in the Irish marketplace,” Murdoch said.
In May, Buy4Now revealed year-end turnover of €14.7m, a 33pc increase on the previous year. The company reported a net trading profit of €750k, which did not include a €150k write down on development costs. A year earlier the company reported a net loss of €450k. For 2003 Buy4Now is predicting revenues of €18m.
By John Kennedy
