The Bear Necessities For Web Sales

The Internet is complex, but keeping it simple for online shoppers is key to the success of the Vermont Teddy Bear Co.

The small, specialty retailer, which has been selling teddy bears for more than 20 years, expects to generate over 50 percent of its revenue, or $28 million, over the Internet in its fiscal year ending June 30. That compares to $1.7 million, or 10 percent of total revenues, generated during the first year of online sales in 1997. In 2003, the company had 9 million visitors.

Vermont Teddy Bear markets its stuffed animals as an alternative to sending flowers on special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries or a child’s first Christmas. Therefore, personalization is key, along with customer service and one-day delivery. The latter is particularly important to men, who are known to wait to the last minute before ordering something special for the wife to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

“It’s a nice way for men to bail themselves out and still do something special,” Tom Funk, web manager for Vermont Teddy Bear, said. “The women really love it.”

Contributing to the company’s growing online success is a combination of easy navigation through the site, online chat with customerservice representatives, as well as an 800 number displayed prominently on the homepage for those people who want to talk directly with a person.

“The web site is deliberately not sophisticated,” Funk said. “Our site really avoids any fancy (Macromedia) Flash. It’s a very simple and user-friendly site that’s almost old fashioned in its navigation.”

The homepage offers bears for almost every special occasion, and visitors can easily find a link for choosing a customized toy to celebrate a daughter’s first soccer trophy. Online chat is available throughout the ordering process.

A customer service rep, both online and on the telephone, is available 24 hours a day heading into Mother’s and Valentine’s days, the company’s busiest holidays, and Christmas, which comes in third.

Even at those busy times, the company guarantees next-day delivery both online and offline by having a temporary fulfillment center next to the FedEx hub in Memphis, Tenn., Funk said. In addition, the company doubles its workforce from 250 to 500.

For Valentine’s Day next year, the company will be shipping on Sunday to make sure gifts arrive on Monday, Feb. 14.

“We’re one of the few sites who will offer guaranteed delivery on Valentine’s Day right up to the last minute,” Funk said.

In keeping its site simple, Vermont Teddy Bear makes it useful for the largest number of its very broad audience. The company, which also sells women’s pajamas, gourmet foods and flowers under three different brands, advertises on radio, TV and direct mail.

“We’re trying to reach everyone,” Funk said.

In addition, simplicity fits the image of a company that makes all its handmade toys in the United States.

“People expect us to be a little traditional, friendly and accessible,” Funk said. “That’s the tradition of Vermont. It represents old-fashioned values and simplicity.”

During most of the year, Vermont Teddy Bear runs its ePages commerce software on a Linux platform in-house. On high-traffic holidays, however, the publicly traded Shelburne, Vt.-based company, subscribes to Yahoo! Inc.’s hosted e-commerce service.

“This time of year, we’re doing a thousand orders an hour,” Funk said. “We’re not capable of hosting that kind of infrastructure for traffic that peaks three times a year.”