Streetcar.com, the online gift voucher e-tailer, has expanded its reach to the Middle East. Originally intended as a gifting service to aid South African ex-pats, the company has moved into the Israeli market.
Though the business model remains roughly the same, company co-founder Terry Shatenstein says that while Streetcar.com wanted to make the move earlier, it couldn't have chosen a more difficult country for initial international expansion.
"There are significant cultural changes - not the least of which is that the language is written from right to left. It's also an incredibly fast industry, and their way of doing business is very different. That said, they're also very technically progressive; there's a strong American influence as well."
Shatenstein says the move has also provided Streetcar.com with access to a great skills base. "It's allowed us to move our technical development there, which I think will benefit us in long-term growth. We now have a central host, server and payment mechanism that handles transactions from both countries."
The technical department forms half of the two-pronged Israeli initiative. The operational division functions in much the same way it does here - premium brands and established stores offering gift vouchers for purchase through the Streetcar.com Web interface.
Streetcar.com's success in the e-tail industry means it's fast becoming one of the big daddies of South African e-commerce. Since its launch, the company has added various capabilities to the site's back-end, allowing for more flexibility on the consumer's side. One recent addition, says Shatenstein, is the ability for customers to transact in any currency they wish, rather than pinning them down to transacting in US dollars.
"When you realise that 70% of our orders come from overseas, it makes sense."
The company has received orders from the US and UK, and from as far afield as Hong Kong, Japan and Poland.
Streetcar.com will launch its new look Web site towards the end of February, and consolidate its recently announced corporate intranet venture in months to come.
The start-up that was the brainchild of two now employs 17, both in SA and Israel. And though it can't yet be described as standing on its own financial feet, Shatenstein believes the teething problems are through. "We've learned several hard lessons, but we know now how to run Streetcar.com as a business."
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