Adjust Business

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, June 16 /PRNewswire/ — Erayo.com, the world’s first online marketplace and social network exclusively for independent retailers, launches today. A business-to-business platform, Erayo.com supports and encourages independent retailing by connecting established and emerging international jewelry, accessories, kids and home furnishings designers with independent boutique and specialty-shop owners, to provide retailers with an entirely new channel to source unique, trend-right merchandise so they can challenge their larger or more established competitors.
“The spirit of independent retailing is vital for the social fabric of a community and for the sake of business diversity, and ever increasing retail consolidation is having a detrimental effect on consumers, up-and-coming designers and small business owners,” said Raffi Topaz, co-founder and CEO of Erayo. “Erayo was conceived to help eliminate this inequality by providing independent retailers with access to the latest fashions and the most unique merchandise from the hottest new designers around the world. Erayo levels the playing field for smaller retailers so they can compete with big chain retailers while maintaining a unique sense of independence and individuality.”
Erayo’s global team of buyers, merchants and talent scouts scour the world in search of the best established and emerging design talent. They attend the major buying shows and market fairs, like Bread and Butter Barcelona, Maison & Objet, and Fierre Milan, providing independent retailers international access to the latest trends and merchandise. Erayo invites only those designers whose products exhibit the right combination of quality, uniqueness and marketability to participate on the Erayo.com online marketplace. Erayo then creates a Web site on Erayo.com for each designer, which includes product images, videos, personal descriptions and a press section.
Currently more than 110 designers from 14 countries are featured on Erayo, including established designers such as Spain’s Patricia Nicolas, London’s Martine Wester, France’s PA Designs and Israel’s LUKA. The site also features emerging talent, like Iris Design, also from Israel, whose romantic bangles are receiving wide press coverage and are now carried by Lord & Taylor.
“I never wanted to be a business person; I just wanted to be an artist and a designer and that is exactly what Erayo enables me to be,” said Iris Braunstein Shemesh, the designer and visionary behind Iris Designs. “Erayo has allowed me to take my business global, with almost no effort, so I can really focus on my art. With Erayo, I am instantly connected to buyers in the U.S., England, France and Russia, etc., but Erayo handles all of the administration, including the computing international taxes and duties and even bills the retailers for me.”
For buyers, typically boutique and specialty store owners, Erayo functions much like a virtual buying office because it allows buyers to source merchandise directly from international designers without the costs or hassles associated with hiring a buying consultant or navigating the international trade show circuit. During Erayo’s beta test period, more than 3,500 buyers from 55 countries signed up, including the United States, Canada, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Spain, France and Russia.
“One of the biggest challenges we have is finding new and unusual pieces that customers won’t find in any big department store,” said Laura Macris, co- owner of the trendy Crush Boutique in Boston, MA. “My business partner and I attend U.S. accessories trade shows a few times a year, but until Erayo, we just didn’t have the man power or resources to source internationally. Erayo won’t completely replace trade shows for us, but now we are much less dependent on them. Not only can we source incredibly unique international brands with Erayo, but we can reduce our travel costs and spend more time at the store with our customers.”
In addition to providing access to unique merchandise, Erayo is also an online retailing community-a place for independent retailers to learn, network, communicate and inspire each other. Erayo provides actionable business management and trend information as well as the ability for retailers and designers to communicate directly with one another to talk business. The “My Erayo” section of the site functions as each member’s business hub. This page concentrates all of the important information an Erayo member needs to do business on the platform-allowing members to place or receive orders, track deliveries and payments, see sales statistics and message business partners.
“Erayo isn’t just protecting independent retailing throughout the world; it is actually helping to grow it by removing one the most significant entry barriers for any person interested in becoming a retailer,” added Topaz. “Now that Erayo has solved the merchandise sourcing issue, anyone can become an independent retailer and sell from a storefront, their home or even their own Internet site.”
About Erayo
Erayo is the world’s first online marketplace and social network exclusively for independent retailers. A business-to-business platform, Erayo makes it easy for independent retailers to source unique high-quality, trend- right merchandise from emerging and established international designers. The company was founded in April 2007 by Raffi Topaz and Yoni Zelinger, two seasoned and successful Israeli technology entrepreneurs. The company was recently named one of Israel’s most promising Web 2.0 companies by the California Israel Chamber of Commerce. The Erayo.com wholesale marketplace officially launched in June 2008 with more than more than 110 designers from 14 countries and more than 3,500 buyers from 55 countries. For more information, please visit .
Media Contact:
Samantha Freeman
Kwittken & Company
646.747.7147

Erayo