Sport Chalet, Inc. will launch a new website on Nov. 22 as the
first phase of an e-commerce strategic plan that will allow it to
better connect with customers. In 2009, Phase Two of the transition
will enable customers to complete purchases online and have merchandise
available for in-store pickup, or shipped directly from Sport Chalet's
vendors, its Distribution Center or its stores.
Craig Levra, chairman and CEO, stated, “This has been in the works for a long time, and we are thrilled that our new e-commerce strategy will present the strength of the Sport Chalet brand
and reinforce our position as the leading retailer of specialty
sporting goods and services. A comprehensive strategy and a market
leading online presence will allow us to take advantage of an
opportunity to build awareness of our brand as we introduce Sport
Chalet to broader markets. We are very cognizant of how we portray not
only our brand but more importantly our core specialty vendor partners
online, and that positioning must mirror the experience of shopping in
our stores. Therefore, it is imperative that we offer our customers an
exciting online experience that is meaningful and complements what we
offer in our Sport Chalet stores. We expect our efforts will create
stronger customer loyalty and drive traffic to our stores while at the
same time increasing sales.”
In the development of this new e-commerce strategy, Sport Chalet said it
has leveraged investments in its infrastructure and systems during the
past four years including SAP, High Jump and Market Max/SAS. These
infrastructure enhancements have laid the foundation for the launch of
the new e-commerce platform. Sport Chalet has partnered with leading
technology providers to maximize the opportunity including:
* MarketLive — for the e-commerce platform and hosting. This platform will include Endeca, Omniture and Scene7 services.
* Sapient Interactive — for site design, build and integration.
* Shopatron — for order management, payment processing, customer
support, and enabling of in-store pickup.
* Baazarvoice — for customer ratings and reviews.
* Experian Cheetah Mail — for email campaign management.
Peter R. Taylor, director of business development, e-commerce,
commented, “We recognize we have an untapped opportunity in ECommerce
and we believe now is the opportune time to begin upgrading our
capabilities. Given that we understand the power and the ever evolving
capabilities of the web, we have developed our digital strategy with a
well designed methodology. Over the last four years, the company has
installed key systems that collectively serve as the solid foundation
for our e-commerce offering. After a thorough vetting and review
process, there is no doubt the partners we have selected will provide
the best in class technologies. We believe we are taking all of the
right steps to better connect with our customers while capturing
additional market share and positioning Sport Chalet for long-term
growth. Phase One will serve as an important holiday marketing vehicle,
while Phase Two will provide a complete online shopping experience,
allowing customers from around the nation to shop with us.”