Appliances Online has been named as one of six finalists in the 2011 Oracle World Retail Awards, in the ‘Pure Play Etailer of the Year’ category.
CEO John Winning said he’s honoured by the recognition, having begun the multi- million dollar business in 2005 with just a rented truck, laptop and 1300 number connected to his mobile. Now, at age 26, Winning is recognised as one of Australia’s most successful online entrepreneurs.
“The biggest fallacy about running an online business is that you go online so you don’t need to interact with customers,” he said.
“At Appliances Online, we aim to set the customer service bar extremely high. We spend a lot of our time listening to what our customers need, and the rest of the time delivering it to them. We believe our core value promise of providing high-level customer service is a key reason for Appliances Online being identified as an Etailer of the Year finalist.”
The Oracle World Retail Awards recognises outstanding organisations and individuals who deliver high retail performance outcomes. The award, now in its fifth year, is seen a measure of true achievement in the retail industry.
The awards will be judged by an impressive panel of leaders in the international retail community, including Myer CEO Bernie Brookes and Oracle Retail Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Webster.
Winning attributes his success to his belief that he could overcome consumers aversion to buying large home appliances online by providing them with the best elements of shopping in a bricks and mortar retailer. With this in mind, his focus has been to deliver high levels of customer service, unbiased research and the best prices.
“We also utilise social media platforms to find new ways of interacting with our customers to answer their questions, offer advice and provide them great deals on appliances such as the washing machine.”