A nice write-up from the Internet.com people...
Ashord.com: Sheer Elegance
With the huge run-up in the markets this year, the rich are getting
richer. They'll need to find luxury items to spend their money this
Christmas -- making such companies as Montblanc, Rolex and Versace very
merry indeed. In fact, the market for luxury goods is about $133
billion.
There is a way for the rest of us to participate, though: Ashford.com
(ASFD). In less than two years, the company has built a comprehensive
product line that includes leather goods, handbags, fragrances,
sunglasses, writing products, jewelry, diamonds and watches.
There are several characteristics to the luxury market. First of all, it
is fragmented. In other words, there is no one luxury superstore. By
centralizing online, Ashord.com can realize cost-savings. Second, there
is little price sensitivity and the average purchase is relatively high.
Such advantages are already benefiting Ashford.com. For example, sales
are beginning to sparkle. In its latest quarter, they were $4.4 million,
a 21 percent sequential increase from the prior quarter. The customer
base has zoomed from 2,411 last year to 26,971 this year, with repeat
customers accounting for 16 percent of sales.
A major part of the growth came from key strategic distribution
agreements. In the Yahoo! deal, Ashord.com is a premier merchant and at
AOL, Ashford.com is an anchor tenant at Jewelry & Watches and
Accessories.
Ashord.com takes customer service very seriously, which is of paramount
importance in selling luxury goods. Customer service reps are available
via phone, e-mail and online chat from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm, Monday
through Friday and 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday.
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