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Well, that’s pretty straightforward. A storm broke our old arbor and we decided to move one plant and to get a trellis for the Clematis on the opposite side.
We drove around a little and looked for trellis ideas at local stores before the obvious solution dawned on us: See what’s available on the Internet.
A GOOGLE search took us to Simply Arbors where we soon found a trellis which should do the job for us. We ordered it and that company even went an extra step compared to most, in that they didn’t just deliver a tracking number but also a link to that particular number at UPS’ web site. The product was also delivered a couple of days before the date, estimated in the order confirmation.
In other words, another example of perfect service from an Internet retailer, BUT I wouldn’t be writing this page if it weren’t something else that this old retailer found extremely interesting:
This letter arrived:
Dear Kjell,
My name is Doug Nielsen. I'm the founder & CEO of NetShops. I'd like to extend a sincere "Thank you" to you for your purchase from SimplyArbors.com, one of the NetShops family of stores. I understand that you have countless options and appreciate that you chose SimplyArbors.com. As a specialty retailer, providing a high level of service is very important to us - if you have any questions, please contact us either by phone at 1-800-506-9725 or by email at customer_service@simplyarbors.com. Remember, we are always just a call or a click away.
We invite you to experience the NetShops family of stores
If you enjoyed shopping at SimplyArbors.com, you might also like what our other stores have to offer. We specialize in furniture, entertainment and décor products for your home. Every NetShops store is committed to bring you the best online shopping experience and we provide the most complete selection of quality products you will find anywhere. Click Here to see all of our stores.
Great Gift Ideas
Our customers have told us that because of our wide selection, our stores are excellent places to purchase unique gifts for friends, relatives, and loved ones. Whatever the occasion, you'll find what you want to give, and what someone else will want to receive. Shop Now
Thanks again and I hope you enjoy your purchase! Everyone here at NetShops is looking forward to serving you again soon.
Sincerely,
Doug Nielsen
Founder & CEO
SimplyArbors.com, a NetShops store
The category I happened to find, includes arbors, trellises, and arbor accessories and it contained about 300 different items.
Other stores had about that many items, but can you imagine over 950 fireplace screens? There is absolutely no way that a conventional retail store could offer that level of selections in such relatively narrow categories.
Not only do they all have great selections, they also present the products in the Internet way with pictures and facts to give the shopper an overview that is hard to do on a crowded shop floor. They point out somewhere on the web sites that each store manager is truly a specialist in his area and he - or she - has active contacts with a large number of suppliers.
Trying to second-guess Mr. Nielsen, I imagine that two components in deciding to go into a new product category are availability of a suitable store manager and the structure of manufacturers. My suspicion is that each store carries a very small inventory (another cost saving factor) but has a very well organized net of communications with the manufacturers.
In my case, I was dealing with Simply Arbors in Omaha, Nebraska, but the product was shipped by UPS from Dura - Trel in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Studying the web sites, I also found that NetShops has an affiliate program, offering commissions to other organizations who market their products. I for one, am genuinely impressed with this retailing network, taking full advantage of available technology.
It has been a pleasure to meet NetShops for more than one reason. We hear so much about how this country is losing ground to low-cost competitors, and that is certainly true when business leaders stubbornly march on in a ‘business as usual’ manner, not realizing that the world is changing.
NetShops is a great example of an intelligent implementation of the tools which are available today. The whole concept is very impressive.
(A little sideline which is probably not typical of every product: The Estate Trellis, which I bought, is made of vinyl and the total cost of the posts, rails, and other materials may be around $10 - $15, but all the holes and pieces fit together perfectly. I would never had been able to accomplish that myself. Another example how intelligent design makes the final product valuable even though the basic material is inexpensive!)
Again, as a student of retailing, I very much admire the efficiency of Wal*Mart. With all its success, that company has been criticized for many things. One often heard complaint is that Wal*Mart chokes out other retailers. That may be true if other retailers don’t adjust to the situation and offer something that the giant can’t offer.
It so happens that when I looked for trellises on the Internet, I also went to Wal*Mart’s web site. All they offered was do-it-yourself books for handy folks to make their own trellises. That is not surprising, since what Simply Arbors offers would be a low-volume, specialized category, not at all suited for their business.
Retailing is a fascinating business, among other things, because there are so many opportunities to experiment with merchandise, price levels, service variations and other things. NetShops has taken it to a new dimension by presenting a totally different mix of stores.
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