Roots Canada, the lifestyle apparel company, which provides team clothing to the national sports teams of various countries, and its e-commerce support partner, PFSweb, Inc. (NASDAQ-PFSW) learned -- the hard way -- from the winter version of a worldwide athletic event how to best respond to spikes in consumer demand. They are fully prepared for the summer version of the global gathering of athletes, with online stores in the U.S. and the U.K. that serves as a model for firms seeking entry into unfamiliar or foreign markets.
PLANO, TX and TORONTO, Canada (PRWEB) June 10, 2004 -- Executives at PFSweb, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFSW), a global provider of integrated business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions and Roots, the Toronto-based athletic lifestyle brand, are responding to the phenomenal success of Roots apparel in the winter of 2002. They have paired to build a robust online ordering system that can easily handle major spikes in e-commerce activity driven by publicity and sporting events while preserving and hopefully increasing conversion rates.
"PFSweb and Roots have worked diligently to create a full-service Web site that bolsters our online presence worldwide," Alan Goldberg, Roots executive vice president and chief operating Officer, said. "In effect, we hope to maximize our event-driven customers and additionally turn these individuals into a long-term customer base."
In order to ensure the highest possible conversion of visitors to orders, Roots and PFSweb poured over site analytics, customer feedback, past sales trends and call transcripts to develop a more customer friendly, e-commerce focused website that provides an excellent brand representation for Roots.
Since Roots experiences significant spikes due to event-based traffic, much time was spent to ensure data systems are able to scale effortlessly when required and customers are still able to place purchases during heavy traffic periods.
PFSweb call centers supporting Roots in the winter of 2002 were inundated with tens of thousands of more calls and orders than expected as the public went wild for Roots apparel.
"Those months were manic as we scrambled to receive and ship an unprecedented number of orders. It did prove to us, however, that Roots could effectively extend its lifestyle brand into the United States through a superior online shopping experience," Goldberg continued, "an experience we are looking to repeat in other markets."
The U.S. online store Roots Direct, www-roots-direct.com, now incorporates a broad selection from the full line of Roots clothing and accessories, including a "make-to-order" tool that allows consumers to customize selected items to meet their personal style, such as Roots customized handbags and jackets, introduced this past summer.
During the upcoming summer, periods of anticipated high demand will be handled by PFSweb through an account management team in Toronto; call centers in Plano, Texas and Memphis, Tenn.; distribution (logistics) in Memphis and IT, creative, programming and payment processing in Plano. And that's just for U.S. orders.
This model for U.S. success is being replicated by PFSwebs Liège, Belgium-based subsidiary PFSweb B.V., for Roots' first e-commerce foray into the United Kingdom. PFSweb is designing a Roots-European website and will manage the call center, fulfillment, distribution, customer-delivery and reverse logistics services for U.K. orders.
Tamy Butterfield, general manager and director of PFSweb Canada, said, "We are much better prepared to handle peak volumes, including a well-trained standby workforce, if necessary. Information, reporting and ordering systems developed in the past two years will permit Roots to manufacture to demand as well as to recognize when peak ordering is tapering off. That translates into reduced inventory risk."
Additionally, inventories managed by PFSweb will replenish shelves in Roots stores located in the U.S., in department stores, other retailers and even wholesalers that Roots has licensed in recent years.
"We can deliver into any channel that Roots requires, and we can meet the labeling, packing slip and other individual shipping requirements of the Roots customers," Butterfield said.
PFSweb also serves such notable clients as Dupont Fluoroproducts, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, NokiaUSA.com, Pfizer, Inc., Shell Energy Services Company, Smithsonian Institution, Xerox and other brand name companies.
About PFSweb, Inc.
PFSweb provides comprehensive outsourcing solutions to provide proven, fast and secure business infrastructure to enable traditional and e-commerce strategies. Its team of experts designs diverse solutions for clients around a flexible core business infrastructure. PFSweb solutions include: professional consulting services, e-marketplace logistics, order management, Web-enabled customer contact centers, customer relationship management, international distribution and fulfillment services, reverse logistics, billing and collection services, kitting and assembly services and ERP information interfacing utilizing its Entente SuiteSM.
To find out more about PFSweb, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFSW), visit our Website at www.pfsweb.com.
This release can be found at the company Website -- www.pfsweb.com -- which is not a part of this release. PFSweb is a registered trademark. Entente Suite is a service mark of PFSweb. All rights reserved.
The matters discussed in this news release, particularly information regarding future revenue, earnings, business plans and goals, consist of forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to and involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. These statements are based on assumptions and estimates that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information; however, management's assumptions and the Companys future performance are both subject to a wide range of business risks and uncertainties, and there is no assurance that these goals and projections can or will be met. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking information contained herein is subject to the risk factors and uncertainties described in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which risk factors and uncertainties are incorporated by this reference as though fully set forth herein.
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