Fashion retailer Elisabeth by Liz Claiborne, footwear firm Cole Haan and lingerie company Maidenform will be the first brands to
establish their e-commerce infrastructures using Chelsea Interactive’s new
technology platform.
Chelsea Interactive, an affiliate of Chelsea GCA Realty Inc., said that
through a strategic relationship with e-business consulting company Proxicom Inc., it will provide each brand
with a direct-to-the-consumer online store incorporating e-commerce design,
development, fulfillment and customer service.
Proxicom provides Chelsea Interactive clients with consulting services
including strategic planning, project management, Web site design, technology
development and legacy system integration.
Each brand will maintain control over all aspects of its online store’s
products, prices and image, Chelsea said. Financial arrangements with the
retailers were not disclosed.
“Rather than each brand starting out on its own to develop every element of a
complete e-commerce infrastructure, Chelsea Interactive provides brands with
their own customized online stores built upon a robust, shared platform,”
said David Bloom, chairman and chief executive officer of Chelsea GCA.
“Chelsea Interactive allows each brand to focus on what it does best: manage
the high quality of its products and image.”
The solution includes use of BroadVision Inc.’s scalable e-commerce
software for inventory management, transaction processing and user-profile
databases; and
PeopleSupport Inc. for e-mail, online
text chat and telephone customer service.
Chelsea GCA develops, leases, manages and owns fashion-oriented
manufacturers’ outlet centers. Chelsea GCA’s portfolio currently includes
more than 1,600 real-world stores.
By leveraging the economies of scale in Chelsea Interactive’s platform,
brands going online can access an outsourced solution that minimizes their
own investment, the company said.
Its business model centers initially on the
brand equity developed by
the brands themselves, not on branding itself as a “dot-com” destination.
Chelsea Interactive’s revenues will be based primarily on a percentage of
each brand’s online
sales.