Click and buy your towels
By Sherriza Hareani

Businessman Alex Lim, is a firm believer in running both a click and mortar business.

His furnishings store, under the Aussino name, at key department stores has an online counterpart — Aussino.com

It was profit from the word "go" — beginning with a humble 14 orders and a sales turnover of US$780.89 (S$1,328) in September, the first month of the online store.

By January this year, the company had around 1,500 orders and sales turnover rose to US$63,428.71.

"No physical counter can show such an exponential growth in sales," he said.

Aussino, a Perth-based retailer, sells not just furnishing such as beddings, bath items and kitchen ware, but ladies’ clothing and jewellery as well.

In a survey done on its website, the company discovered that a large number of its customers had never bought products from its physical stores, Mr Lim said.

"That proves that we are penetrating into a brand new market," he said, adding that Aussino’s key shoppers were women aged between 25 and 40 years.

But running an e-shop is not just a matter of uploading information from the mortar business.

The company assembled an e-commerce team of about 20. Of that, half handle customer service, six manage the website, with a technical officer and a marketing personnel providing support.

Despite its 24-hour, seven-days-a-week convenience, an online shop lacks the sense of physical touch.

So, Mr Luke Chiam, Aussino’s e-commerce manager, hired professional photographers to romance the products for online display.

The upside of an online shop, though, is the huge range of products.

Said Mr Chiam: "We are not limited by walls. We have 2000 stock-keeping units or SKUs or categories, and we are adding two to three new products every day."

Most importantly, the company made sure that its backend logistics were in place.

The company has warehouses in several countries and Mr Lim guarantees that items ordered will reach customers within seven to 10 days. Prices are reasonable and registered members enjoy discounts of between 30 and 50 per cent.

Miss Schnabel Rudianto, Aussino’s e-commerce product manager, said that a team of buyers source products from China, Australia and Singapore at wholesale prices. Savings from cheaper buys and rent are passed on to customers, she said.