Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Marketing a Pure Play E-Tailer: Historic...

Farris, Paul W., Y...

Case

Marketing a Pure Play E-Tailer: Historical Emporium Inc.

Farris, Paul W.; Yemen, Gerry

M-0901 | Published January 15, 2016 | 10 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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The material in this case provides customer data that were available to the case protagonists to make data-driven decisions. From their garage to a 16,000-square-foot warehouse and office in San Jose, California, Chris and Alicia Allen built a business, Historical Emporium Inc. (HEI) that generated nearly $8 million in sales in 2015. They both had previously worked in the technology field. In true techie fashion, the pair continually thought about ways they could use digital tools to increase sales and enhance customer experience. One of the main drivers of HEI's rapid growth had been the steampunk trend that started back in 2006. Initially there were few competitors in the space but as the size of the market grew, so did the competition. Noticing the dip in their sales, the Allen's wanted to pursue avenues to backfill the loss of that business. They returned to the analytics?what should they concentrate on to draw new customers and keep existing customers engaged?

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