WITH BARI FURNITURE
FOR ON-LINE SELLING
WINCHESTER, VA – Rugs Direct has entered into a partnership with Bari Furniture of Altamonte Springs, FL to expand the furniture retailer’s product offerings, according to Randy Kremer, president of Rugs Direct and Tom Tilaro, president of Bari Furniture.
The two e-commerce businesses have created the Bari Furniture Rug Gallery, by which over 70,000 name-brand area rugs will become available for sale to Bari Furniture customers.
The new online store was designed by Rugs Direct to match the look and feel of the main Bari Furniture website and function as a totally transparent extension to Bari’s primary business.
“When it comes to selling rugs online, Rugs Direct has the largest inventory, top-rated customer service and proprietary technology that makes it easy for shoppers to find exactly the rugs they want to decorate every room in their homes,†said Kremer.
Rugs Direct has made it possible for online retailers with other specialties to add area rugs to their offering by tapping into the Rugs Direct model. Through the Bari Furniture Rug Gallery customers shopping for living room or bedroom furniture can now match and add a coordinating area rug to their purchase with just a few clicks of the computer mouse.
“One of the greatest appeals of this concept to e-tailers,†said Kremer, “is that they can have a fully branded rug store added to their existing website and all they need to do is provide a link. Rugs Direct creates the new site at no charge, plus handles all the order processing, customer service, fulfillment and returns and then send them a commission check every month,†Kremer explained.
“Bari Furniture has been looking for an easy, inexpensive way to expand the product line beyond furniture for some time,†said Tilaro. “What Rugs Direct had to offer fit the bill. They did almost all the work in setting up the new Rug Gallery, and did so at absolutely no cost to Bari Furniture.â€
Tilaro also mentions that it’s important that the rug store is well integrated with the main website and the customer remains Bari Furniture’s for all future marketing and promotional opportunities.
“Rugs Direct is hoping there are many other home-design and home-decor businesses that see the value in this concept and want to expand their product lines as easily and inexpensively as Bari Furniture has done,†said Kremer.
This partnership is an example of a growing trend in e-commerce for retailers to form symbiotic relationships. These relationships allow retailers to expand into complementary vertical markets by leveraging the expertise and technology of the retailers with which they collaborate.
07.27.10
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