VENDe – Find it. Love it. Stock it.

AGHA LAUNCHES NEW E-MARKETPLACE TO KEEP ONLINE TRADING WITHIN AUSTRALIAN SHORES

The Australian Gift & Homewares Association (AGHA) has today launched VENDe, a new and improved e-marketplace to facilitate online trading and networking between wholesalers and retailers in the gift and homewares industry.

Replacing AGHA’s existing online trade portal SupplierHaven, VENDe (pronounced “Vend”) is designed to keep online trading within Australian shores and make it easier than ever for time poor retailers to find, purchase and have new stock delivered.

With a tagline of ‘Find it. Love it. Stock it.’, the VENDe site has been designed to be more inviting, easier to navigate and offer a wider range of products than its predecessor, from fashion to kitchenware, homewares to outdoor living, children’s toys to stationery and everything in between.

Buyers benefit from the convenience of one-stop, 24/7 access to wholesalers, comprehensive search functions and a secure shopping cart and payment facility.

Unlike SupplierHaven, the B2B e-marketplace also allows wholesalers with an existing online store to list and upload products to VENDe with links through to their own website.

AGHA’s Product Coordinator Online, Chris Tredwell said the design and launch of VENDe was six months in the making and the result of a comprehensive survey of SupplierHaven users and non-users.

“People really liked the concept of SupplierHaven but they found aspects of the site to be too restrictive and difficult to navigate, so with VENDe we’ve aimed to create an altogether more flexible and inclusive e-marketplace model,” said Mr Tredwell.

SupplierHaven has grown steadily since its launch in November 2010 and currently boasts more than 100 live sites and over 5000 regular retail buyers.

Mr Tredwell said the launch of VENDe was designed to offer a smooth and simple transition to SupplierHaven users, providing all the functionality they enjoyed previously along with a host of improvements.

Other new features will be added to VENDe over time with the aim of making the site a one-stop resource for buyers and sellers to network and grow their businesses.

“We want to make the VENDe experience about more than just simple and secure online trading. We want people to be visiting the site on a daily basis, not just to buy and sell stock, but to chat with others in the gift and homewares industry and find inspiration, ideas and advice,” said Mr Tredwell.

The launch of VENDe follows the roll out of AGHA’s new name and brand identity in September and reflects the association’s commitment to investing in services to help grow the gift and homewares industry.

“The explosion of online shopping has increased the buying options for Australian consumers and created challenges for our wholesalers and retailers. We are committed to helping business owners navigate this new world and we hope the launch of VENDe will encourage them to embrace the opportunities that online affords,” said David Leek, CEO, AGHA.

Gift and Homewares Australia (GHA) today launched a new brand identity, Australian Gift & Homewares Association & More. designed to reflect its future strategic approach within the retail sector as a peak industry association that offers ‘more’ to its members.

Complementing the brand redesign, the organisation has decided its vision for the future is also best served by reverting to its original name of Australian Gift and Homewares Association (AGHA).

“We are Australian, and we are an association,” said David Leek, CEO, AGHA.

“So we think it’s in our members’ best interests to promote ourselves as such, and avoid any confusion about our purpose – which is to serve our members across all states and territories.”

A key objective for AGHA will be ramping up its activities in the areas of advocacy and support, not just in the gift and homewares sector, but in the retail industry as a whole.

“We want to ensure that in a constantly changing retail environment, our members’ voices are heard at a federal, state and local level. To champion causes on their behalf, we need a strong and viable brand presence,” said Mr Leek.

The new brand positioning, developed by Matter Design, will aid transition into this new strategic approach, and clearly communicate AGHA’s role as the industry voice for gift and homewares’ retailers and suppliers.

“This is a sector that has been hard hit by various challenges, and it’s a sector that contributes enormously to the Australian economy. With an estimated value of $20 billion, and 150,000 store outlets, the sector provides employment for countless Australians – and we want to keep it that way,” he said.