STL Stores Inc., an online developer and investment company largely specializing in recreational furniture retail, has recently acquired small online business PortableFireplace.com, otherwise known as simply “Portable Fireplace.” STL Stores aims to incorporate web 2.0 navigation and social engagement to better serve customers, as well as boost the size of their catalog with brand new products new to the site. After several weeks of operations, the website has already posted its strongest July in history, and is poised to have a record sales year during the major shopping seasons of fall and winter.
Sn Diego, CA (PRWEB) August 07, 2011
“There’s a lot of potential in Portable Fireplace,” says John Hoang, co-owner of STL Stores. “It’s a great domain in a market that really appeals to people from a variety of different backgrounds. The site didn’t really take off before, but we’re very confident in our team’s ability to turn this site into something very useful for our customers.”
Within a few weeks of ownership, STL Stores Inc. was able to increase the number of unique items in their catalog by 300%.
“We started calling major manufacturers and brands in the industry, and we were able to get a lot of them on board with our vision,” says Sam Kakitani, the President and co-owner of STL.
The company’s vision is to take the small online store and transform it into a one-stop shop for all home and garden portable heating needs. PortableFireplace.com originally supplied only electric fireplaces and accessories; STL Stores intends to add fire pits, outdoor space heaters, fireplace mantels, and heating fans to their catalog.
“Electric fireplaces are really incredible pieces of technology, but really, people have a wide variety of home heating needs – lots of people don’t want an indoor space heater, but they really want to make their outdoor space a comfortable place to relax even in cooler weather,” says Hoang. “We want to help those people, too. And we think, with our improved navigation and organizational initiatives on the site, we will make shopping for the perfect portable heater a breeze.”
The strategy seems to have been effective so far. Despite controlling the domain for only 6 weeks, STL Stores Inc. has already posted the strongest July sales number ever for the site. Summer is not typically considered a profitable season for electric fireplaces and other space heaters, but it seems many people are searching for outdoor fire pits and heaters to accommodate their outdoor entertaining needs.
“We were pretty surprised, to be honest,” says Kakitani, laughing. “Because, really, we didn’t expect many people at all to buy fireplaces and fire pits this late in the summer season. We were focusing our efforts on improving our site so it would be ready for the heavy fall and winter seasons. What a pleasant surprise for us that our site is already helping a lot of people find the perfect heater for their patio or living room!”
Along with outdoor heaters, STL Stores has further increased the product list of Portable Fireplace with corner fireplaces, entertainment centers, and gel-fueled fireplaces. Prior to the acquisition, the site dealt exclusively with electric fireplaces and related accessories. The site has seen significant work on its internal navigation, which aims to be perfected for simple and efficient browsing by the end of the summer, just in time for the massive fall and winter shopping season.
In keeping with its goals of complete customer satisfaction, STL Stores has implemented a Free-Shipping incentive for every product on the site with fast processing times and improved customer service. Part of their plan includes extensive use of social media to facilitate customer outreach and retention.
“We want to build a relationship with our customers,” says Hoang. “If their fireplace breaks, we want them to tell us so we can fix it right away. If there’s a delay in shipping, we want to let them know via Twitter or Facebook. We want to be where our customers are, and engage with them on a personal level, and let them know that we are real people on our end. We’re not a call center overseas, and we aren’t robots either. We are people, helping people.”
Portablefireplace.com is currently live, but will be undergoing continuous construction behind-the-scenes throughout the rest of the summer. You can also explore other STL Stores properties by visiting GameTablesOnline.com and Shuffleboard.net.
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Wyatt Fisk
STL Stores Inc.
858-450-4224
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