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Company: Indigo Multimedia Limited
Project: RE Found Objects

Dates: Jan 2007 to Apr 2007

How did the project start?

Northumberland based company RE, who take their name from their ethos to reclaim, restore and rescue traditional items, approached us to develop an eCommerce site that would help them expand their business beyond the confines of the shop floor and allow them to develop a global market. Their Corbridge shop stocks an eclectic range of unusual, recycled and rescued objects and taking advantage of internet sales was crucial to future development for the company.

What options did you consider?

The company was looking for something more dynamic than a mail order catalogue to sell its unique items to a global market and they also needed a system that would be easy to use. We provided a full eCommerce back end system, which included online ordering linked to stock control, order history, analysis tools and user accounts. This allows RE a flexible system, allowing them to track products, analyse trends and inform their future marketing strategies.

What help and expertise did you receive?

At Indigo we work very closely with our clients to understand their business, it is always important for us to build rapport and trust. As designers and solution providers we rely on their knowledge and expertise to inform our build development. Because RE are constantly sourcing exclusive and distinctive items from around the world, their website needed to respond accordingly. A full CMS allows the company to update each individual page easily, allowing them to showcase a huge range of products.

Did you face any challenges or learn any lessons?

It was important that we married the technology involved in a creating a functional eCommerce site with the unique traditional nature of the products. So we created a site with a very fresh, clean design, relying on beautiful photography to sell the products rather than lots of heavy text and clever graphics. This was balanced with providing a robust CMS that delivers everything the clients required.

What are the outcomes and how has it improved your business?

RE has had its most successful season of online retail to date with 85% of all its sales over the Christmas shopping period being done online. Jenny Vaughan, co founder of RE has seen the business grow from a successful shop and mail order business to an eCommerce success story.
Resulting PR and free editorial in local newspapers, maximised exposure for RE and promoted or services at Indigo to a wider audience. From this marketing we received a number of enquiries and as a direct result, have since developed some excellent eCommerce sites for clients such as AltVinyl, with more in the pipeline.

What are your plans for the future?

It was great to see the site we developed for RE, short-listed for Yahoo’s ‘Finds of the Year’ campaign, and even better to see the positive impact of the eCommerce solutions we provided. For RE we developed a system that will continue to grow in line with the needs of their business environment. Our ongoing support and development, ensures their site remains a valuable asset for forward planning and sales success.
By fostering close working relationships with clients like RE, we can ensure new site enhancements and additions are relevant, meaningful and in line with their specific future business plans.