College-oriented site makes grade in e-biz
By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, February 25, 2002
BOSTON — Three-year-olds do the cutest things.
CollegiateMall.com, launched by Jeff Gut, then a sophomore at Boston University, has in three years grown into an e-commerce player in furniture by specializing in what he knows best — college life.
Sales for the 2001 holiday season were triple that of 2000's November-December selling season, said Gut, chief executive officer. He won't reveal numbers, but says the site should top $1 million in sales this year.
Holiday best-sellers included beanbag chairs, headboard-footboard combinations and futons. Tickets averaged about $300, and top styles were contemporary and modern.
Significantly boosting sales was the site's largest single purchase to date — $50,000 — rung up in December.
The privately held site boasts over 1,500 products, mostly ready-to-assemble furniture. Vendor names aren't given.
"We still have a lot of work to do," Gut said. "By the next holiday season, we plan on shipping at least 99% of our orders on time. One of the greatest challenges we face is working with our furniture suppliers to ship merchandise on time."
CollegiateMall.com began with three vendors and has grown to 30.
"When we started, many furniture manufacturers wouldn't sell us," Gut said. "But we keep going back to spring and fall markets in High Point and we keep meeting with these companies, and over time many change their minds and have decided to give us a try."
He said failed dot-coms went at it too quickly, and he's avoiding that pitfall.
"While we want to grow as fast as we can, that is second to some other goals," he said, like profitability and long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with vendors.
The virtual mall offers 12 product lines, from furniture to kitchen and bath to lamps and linens. And the site offers delivery straight to a student's dorm room. As a company largely consisting of students and recent graduates, CollegiateMall.com claims it is very familiar with the college shopping experience. The site's "Ask the Senior" feature offers tips and suggestions.
To market the site, Gut is working primarily with portal sites and search engines, paying for placement in some cases and sponsoring categories, such as home furnishings.
In addition, CollegiateMall.com is attempting to build an in-store Web kiosk network. By summer, he hopes to have a dozen brick-and-mortar partners with kiosks displaying a co-branded Web site. So far, Affordable Futons in Madison, Wis., has signed up for the kiosk. Another dozen or so stores are in the works, Gut said.
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| CollegiateMall.com's home page features furniture that fits a college student's living space and budget. |
