Business : SpaceSavers Poised to Present Strong Competition in Housewares Market

New brand identity and retooled web site launched by parent company Clickstop.

What was old becomes new again, according to the adage. This certainly applies to the recent transfer of ownership and re-branding of SpaceSavers – a 20-year player in the housewares industry.

SpaceSavers. com was purchased by eCommerce company Clickstop in September. Formerly, SpaceSavers operated 5 brick-and-mortar stores in North Carolina, in addition to the website. However, operations of the physical storefronts ceased earlier this summer and the previous owner, Abner Wright, sought new ownership for the online segment of the company he'd started in 1990.

After 4 months of inactivity on SpaceSavers.com, Clickstop officially resumed website operations on October 4th by making a small group of products available for purchase. Orders began immediately. "It was remarkable," said Shaun Linderbaum, Clickstop's co-owner and Vice President, "we received a number of phone calls from customers interested in placing orders when we were just testing the phone lines and making routing adjustments. It was clear people were just waiting for SpaceSavers to return, and we're happy to give that to them."

Unlike the model employed by the previous owner, Clickstop will operate SpaceSavers solely as an online store with complementary inbound phone sales and service. All of Clickstop's 11 brands operate in this manner.

Presently, the SpaceSavers web site boasts nearly 3,000 products from over 50 different vendors. Popular brands currently represented on the site include Sterilite, Organize it All, Household Essentials, Iris, Rubbermaid, Richards, InterDesign, and Spectrum. The company has plans to offer products from another 20 vendors within the next several weeks, pending delivery of inventory. Clickstop projects expanding product offerings during 2011 to include 5,000 or more unique SKUs.

As part of the acquisition, Clickstop has rejuvenated the long-standing SpaceSavers brand with a new logo and a fresh re-design of SpaceSavers.com. Among the many visual enhancements and improved usability, SpaceSavers web site customers will also enjoy:

1. International Checkout option - allowing anyone in the world to easily and securely order from the site without incurring over-inflated shipping charges.
2. A new category structure with more detailed search options to help people quickly find exactly what they need.
3. Deal of The Day – The new site will consistently feature a special Sale item at an extremely reduced price, for a limited amount of time or until inventory is depleted.
4. A “You May Also Like…” section on each product detail page, which will help customers find other products that can be used in conjunction with what they are already buying.

"We believe the new design and dynamic functionality reflects the brand as we plan to operate it," said Merchandising Team Leader Kendra Smith, having played a key role in the re-branding and inventory procurement efforts. "Products will be easier to find and there will be lots of contextual information to help consumers generate ideas and make plans for how to use them."