TEL AVIV, Israel–A new online community and marketplace that enables independent retailers to meet and buy from fashion designers from around the world has launched and is eager to woo Americans.
The service, called Erayo, or “ray of light” in Spanish, is the brainchild of two Israeli businessmen, Raffi Topaz and Yoni Zelinger, and seeks to be a platform for e-commerce across the fashion, jewelry, children’s and home decor businesses.
Recognizing independents may be challenged in their sourcing of unique goods, and can’t always travel to international shows, the Erayo founders sought to provide the appropriate infrastructure, including Web site and economies of scale in terms of contracts with courier and freight companies, and other advantages to “level the playing field” with big-box retailers, Topaz said.
Having just launched, the erayo.com site features more jewelry than home goods, and the numbers of participants is still small: roughly 125 designers, and about 3,000 buyers from the Middle East and Europe primarily, Topaz said. He’s also seeking more salespeople in the United States to approach vendors and wants to increase the U.S. presence on both the vendor and retailer side.
Designers pay a fee for each transaction, which covers the cost of marketing, public relations, the Web 2.0 platform that supports the transaction, shipping and any customer service involved. There’s no cost to retailers, Topaz said. Additionally, Erayo executives said they expect designers to offer “advantageous pricing” to the retailers on the site.
Erayo, based in Israel, with a U.S. office in Wilmington, Del., and one person in Boston, has high hopes for its site.
“We’re shedding new light on independent retailing is the way we look at it,” Topaz said. “We think we provide independent retailers such tools that will enable them a better competitive advantage: better product lines and getting those products on much better terms.” — Nancy Meyer