Demandware (www.demandware.com), developer of the breakthrough
On-Demand eCommerce Platform, announced today that it has expanded its
European operations to meet demand from European retailers and U.S.
retailers who are planning international growth. Demandware has
established a new European data center, opened new offices in the UK
and Germany, and formed new partnerships across Europe to facilitate
retailers´ international expansion. Demandware serves dozens of
international brands, including $2 billion toy manufacturer Playmobil
(running in 11 countries), House of Fraser (one of the UK´s largest
department stores), and U.S.-based Timberland (which recently expanded
internationally).
According to a recent Forrester Research report, European online
retail continues to grow, with a 58 percent increase in year-on-year
sales in 2007 and is anticipated to reach EUR 51 billion between
October and the year´s end. ("Europe´s 2007 Christmas: An Online
Retail Wonderland" Forrester, October 23, 2007).
"Ecommerce in Europe is exploding," said Stephan Schambach,
chairman and founder of Demandware. "European retailers are coming
online in a big way and established U.S. online retailers are
expanding overseas to meet the customer demand. Demandware has
invested heavily in its product, its data centers and its delivery
capabilities to ensure our clients are able to capitalize on these
opportunities."
Demandware and International Solution Partners Team for Successful
Site Launches
Throughout 2006 and 2007, Demandware significantly expanded its
European partner network to include some of the leading European
organizations for the design, delivery and ongoing support of
enterprise-class eCommerce sites. These partners deliver the following
services and benefits to Demandware customers:
-- Advisory, support and software services to help retailers
develop and operate world-class eCommerce businesses in
multi-site, multi-brand environments.
-- eCommerce strategy and implementation consulting.
-- Online branding and user experience design.
-- Back-office operations, including fulfillment and contact
center management.
-- Implementation and integration of transactional web sites with
backend operations, point-of-sale systems and contact centers.
-- Ongoing business support, including e-marketing and revenue
optimization.
"Demandware´s on-demand model provides an ideal platform for
international expansion," said Hendrik Hoppe, eBusiness excellence
team leader at T-Systems´ Multi Media Solutions GmbH (MMS). "With
Demandware, T-Systems can help U.S. and European retailers accelerate
their presence in European markets." T-Systems and Demandware partner
to provide hosting, implementation, consulting and design services to
U.S.-based and international retailers.
Ecommerce Platform Optimized for Multiple Languages, Currencies
and Brands
Demandware eCommerce is architected to support the requirements of
operating multiples sites in multiple currencies and languages from a
common platform. Using Demandware, retailers can expand existing
eCommerce sites into new geographies, leveraging the design, content,
and infrastructure of one site to accelerate delivery of transactional
businesses in new markets. Specific capabilities include:
-- Localization of language and currency for country-specific
sites, including accommodations for value added tax (VAT) and
other country-specific tax codes, and laws governing
distribution of goods.
-- Merchandising and marketing management: Demandware eCommerce
accommodates business models that require centralized
merchandising management of eCommerce sites, distributed
in-county merchandising management, or both.
-- Simplified expansion: Using Demandware eCommerce, retailers
and branded manufacturers can launch new sites without
additional software licenses and without additional
investments in network and hardware infrastructure.
"Demandware fills a large void in the current European eCommerce
market," said Simon Evetts, Chief Technology Officer of Javelin Group,
a Demandware partner and advisor on eCommerce strategy and
implementation for Europe´s leading retailers and distributors. "By
delivering enterprise-class eCommerce functionality, in an on-demand
model, Demandware has provided us with the ideal platform on which to
deliver eCommerce innovation without burdening our customers with the
costs of maintaining commodity infrastructure."
European Data Center Delivers Best-in-Class User Experiences and
Site Security
In the same data center that houses some of Europe´s leading
financial institutions, Demandware has expanded its patent pending
Grid Computing Platform, a dynamic computing architecture that
responds to surges in site traffic and flexibly allocates additional
computing capacity to meet demand. The Demandware Grid provides
retailers with industry-leading attributes including:
-- Performance: Demandware has embedded the static content
delivery capabilities of Akamai´s vast network to ensure fast
page response during periods of peak demand and an excellent
shopping experience to global consumers.
-- Security: Demandware has been certified to Payment Card
Industry (PCI) Compliance level 1.1., the highest standard for
hosted eCommerce providers.
-- Reliability: Demandware has historically delivered higher than
99.9 percent uptime and is backed by a performance service
level agreement to ensure retail customers high site
availability.
About Demandware, Inc.
Demandware drives the success of high-growth brands with its
breakthrough On-Demand eCommerce Platform that empowers merchandising
and marketing talent with total control over the shopping experience
and continuous competitive differentiation. Leading brands such as
Bare Escentuals, Playmobil, Playboy, Sally Beauty Supply and
Timberland leverage Demandware´s best-in-class eCommerce functionality
and automatic upgrades to help achieve higher conversion rates,
increase average order size, and improve customer retention.
Demandware is the only on-demand eCommerce solution that enables the
rapid rollout of new sites, provides ubiquitous access to business and
technical users, and is backed by a patented grid computing
architecture that delivers capacity as needed for performance and
reliability that exceeds industry standards. For more information
about Demandware, visit www.demandware.com, call 888-553-9216 or email
info@demandware.com.
