Magento

Partnership Enables Assembly of Enterprise eCommerce Solutions with the Best in Open Source

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. — September 29, 2009 — Varien, the Magento company, announced today an Enterprise partnership with Optaros, providers of innovative ecommerce solutions through the Assembled Web (http://www.optaros.com/blogs/assembled-web-vs-siloed-web), designed to provide open source solutions for large retailers. 

With offices located in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, Optaros offers retailers access to the best in open source for their ecommerce planning (http://www.optaros.com/campaigns/2009-social-ecommerce-planning-guide) needs.  This enterprise partnership enables Optaros to provide assembled ecommerce solutions (http://www.optaros.com/solutions/ecommerce-solutions) to its clients using the Magento Enterprise Edition eCommerce platform.

“Our partnership with Optaros presents the Magento platform as a win for the enterprise retailer,” said Roy Rubin, CEO of Varien.  “Optaros offers their clients a strategic vision in developing an ecommerce strategy (http://www.optaros.com/blogs/ecommerce-strategy-4-top-myths) and the technical prowess to assemble the right solution for each client to hit their corporate objectives for their site.”

The Magento eCommerce Platform, developed by Varien, is built on open source technology that provides merchants with high levels of flexibility and control over the user experience, content and functionality of their ecommerce store. Its modular architecture, industry-leading features and powerful marketing and merchandising tools have quickly made the Magento eCommerce Platform the fastest growing ecommerce platform on the market.

“Our partnership with Varien affirms our dedication to assembling ecommerce solutions with the best in open source,” said Adam Michelson, director of ecommerce, Optaros. “Our enthusiasm for the Magento platform is exhibited by recent contributions to the open source community like the Facebook Connect Social Shopping (FCSS) module and our extensive performance testing of Magento in the Amazon EC2 cloud.”

Magento community members can access the code for the Facebook Connect Social Shopping (FCSS) module on http://www.MagentoCommerce.com.

About Magento
Magento (http://www.MagentoCommerce.com) is a feature-rich, professional Open Source eCommerce platform solution that offers merchants complete flexibility and control over the presentation, content, and functionality of their online channel. Magento’s intuitive administration interface features powerful marketing tools, a catalog-management engine and is SEO optimized to give merchants the power to create sites that provide an unrivaled and rich online shopping experience for their customers, tailored to their unique business needs. The groundbreaking Magento platform is the fastest growing eCommerce platform on the market with over 1,000,000+ downloads to date. Designed to be completely scalable and backed by an extensive support network, Magento is the ultimate eCommerce solution.

About Optaros
Optaros (http://www.Optaros.com) delivers each client a tailored roadmap of Assembled Web solutions to achieve business objectives. Clients are able to engage and transact with target customers anywhere online, increase business agility through assembled software, and save money through the pervasive use of open source software. Optaros serves more than 100 clients including Neiman Marcus, Smart Bargains, Rue La La, Nestle, Travelocity, The New York Times, Sony Pictures and Swisscom.

Inquiries
Varien:
Koby Oz
Director of Marketing
Varien, Inc.

310-954-8012

Optaros:
Laurel Miltner

216-925-5479

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Magento Platform Enables Flexibility, Advanced Features and Provides Enhanced Online Shopping Experience

Los Angeles, CA and Pottstown, PA—September 17th, 2009—Varien, the Magento Company, provider of the premier Open Source eCommerce Platform, and The Eastwood Company, a premier national source for automotive restoration tools and chemicals announced today the rollout of the new Eastwood.com site, powered by the Magento platform.

The Eastwood Company required an eCommerce platform which would improve the usability and sales of the online channel and enable social commerce capabilities. Limited by their previous platform in making updates to the frontend interface to improve usability, and in flexibility and access to the platform to differentiate from competitors, Eastwood looked to find a solution which would meet their business requirements while still offering their customers a truly unique, immersive and superior online shopping experience.

“We needed a platform that was robust with out of the box features, while being flexible enough that we could make changes to suit our business now and with a roadmap that would enable it to grow with us in the future,” said Nick Capinski, Eastwood’s E- Commerce Marketing Manager.

In Magento, Eastwood found a flexible and powerful platform, easily adapted to suit their business processes and workflow, including integration to an Ecometry ERP system on the backend. “We have a very solid back end business system in Ecometry Direct Commerce software. It was imperative that our eCommerce software integrated smoothly with Ecometry in order to maintain our high level of customer service and customer satisfaction. The consultants at Varien did a great job helping us to create that smooth interface,” said Olin Mittan, Eastwood’s Information Systems Manager. This deep integration matching specific business requirements helped Eastwood focus on providing their customers a multi-channel sales experience highlighted by an exceptional online shopping experience and lots of interactivity with social shopping tools.

“The Magento platform is designed to integrate with rich social media and other value adding options, allowing retailers to build a flexible platform that is easily managed and supports community building amongst the customer base. Tools that help create a high level of social interaction will help retailers build community--that continues to drive customer loyalty,” said Roy Rubin, CEO of Varien, the Magento Company.

Implementing the Magento eCommerce platform allowed Eastwood total control over their online channel and provided the ability to add innovative features, such as a Buyer’s Club for their members, product videos and reviews. Through such cutting edge features, Eastwood successfully increased interaction with the site and consumer loyalty. This ability to offer a unique engagement allowed for fine-tuned crafting of a much enhanced experience and provided Eastwood the true edge it needed to differentiate itself from its competitors.

The speed with which the site was implemented, four months, also allowed Eastwood to transition their online channel quickly and seamlessly. “With the new site, we had a very tight deadline to go live. Using Magento, we were able to hit our deadline, even while adding a few additional changes into the project.” said Capinski. The transition enabled Eastwood to decrease operating expenditures through a decrease in licensing fees to their previous eCommerce platform provider. This lower Total Cost of Ownership has enabled Eastwood to invest in further marketing and merchandising efforts to further grow their sales.

“Total cost of ownership has always been a key measurement and will continue to be important for any retailer looking to implement an eCommerce platform, especially these days,” said Rubin. “We designed Magento to provide a technically advanced platform which is easy to use, customize and also integrate into an already operating environment and Eastwood really took advantage of all those factors, and put together a well knit plan to get the most of Magento and their investment in a new eCommerce platform. They made a well calculated decision to focus on value and we look forward to working with Eastwood.”

For more information about Magento, visit http://www.MagentoCommerce.com. To keep up with Magento news, please visit http://www.magentocommerce.com/company/press-releases and http://www.magentocommerce.com/blog.

About Eastwood
The Eastwood Company has been serving the Automotive Restoration Market since 1978, when Curt Strohacker founded the company to alleviate the frustration common when trying to locate the right tools and supplies. Eastwood offers many products that you won’t find anywhere else. From powder coating, to metal shaping, to detailing, Eastwood products make Do-It-Yourself projects easier for beginners and professionals alike. Whether you are looking for product information, trying a restoration process for the first time, or need assistance in using any of our products, members of the Eastwood team are always glad to help. Our staff has the technical knowledge to help you get the job done right! http://www.eastwood.com

About Magento
Magento is a feature-rich, professional Open Source eCommerce platform solution that offers merchants complete flexibility and control over the presentation, content, and functionality of their online channel. Magento’s intuitive administration interface features powerful market- ing tools, a catalog-management engine and is SEO optimized to give merchants the power to create sites that provide an unrivaled and rich online shopping experience for their customers, tailored to their unique business needs. The groundbreaking Magento platform is the fastest growing eCommerce platform on the market with over 1,000,000+ downloads to date. De- signed to be completely scalable and backed by an extensive support network, Magento is the ultimate eCommerce solution.

Inquiries
Koby Oz

310-954-8012

Will Host Joint Webinar to Focus on "Open Source Hype vs. Reality"

LAS VEGAS, NV -- September 21, 2009 – Varien, the Magento company, and Lyons Consulting Group today announced the launch of an alliance with the goal of fostering education and market awareness around the Magento open-source eCommerce solution. The alliance will kick-off with an educational webinar titled “Open Source: Hype vs. Reality” featuring Roy Rubin, CEO of Varien, the Magento Company and Jamie Kail, Director of eCommerce Services of Lyons Consulting Group.

“eCommerce Retailers are demanding platforms that drive innovation and provide value and we have been seeing Magento Enterprise deployments by mid-market retailers steadily increase every day,” said Rubin. “While open source solutions have penetrated and achieved widespread adoption, many still question whether an open source eCommerce platform can provide innovative capabilities for their business. Magento answers these doubts with a clear, resounding “yes”. If you’re not already realizing the benefits of that value proposition, we want to help you get on the train.”

“There’s a lot of confusion around open source platforms in the market right now,” said Rich Lyons, President and CEO of Lyons Consulting Group. “It’s our goal, through this alliance, to dispel much of the misinformation about open source, especially in regard to scalability, security, and support.”

As the offerings available in the eCommerce marketplace continue to grow, Lyons and Varien have teamed up to make sure that retailers have the right information to make informed decisions. Rubin said “We are glad to work with Lyons Consulting Group to dispel myths and educate and inform retailers of options that can help them realize better value and achieve serious results.”

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, October 21st at 10AM Pacific Standard Time/12 Noon Central Standard Time.

In the joint webinar, Rubin and Kail team up to answer the fundamental questions around open source commerce and Magento, including:

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of an open source platform?
• Is an open source solution right for your business?
• What are the real costs of the solution?
• What are the key features and limitations of Magento?



About Magento
Magento is a feature-rich, professional Open Source eCommerce platform solution that offers merchants complete flexibility and control over the user experience, content, and functionality of their online channel. Magento’s intuitive administration interface features powerful marketing tools, a catalog-management engine and is SEO optimized to give merchants the power to create sites that provide an unrivaled and rich online shopping experience for their customers, tailored to their unique business needs. The groundbreaking Magento platform is the fastest growing eCommerce platform on the market with over 1,000,000+ downloads to date. Designed to be completely scalable and backed by an extensive support network, Magento is the ultimate eCommerce solution. http://www.magentocommerce.com
Contact:
Koby Oz

(310) 954-8012 x223

Lyons Consulting Group
Lyons Consulting Group is a customer-focused IT services firm specializing in e- commerce design, development and integration. The firm also offers expertise in ERP/business intelligence and collaboration solutions. Founded in 2003, LCG is based in Chicago but serves global and mid-market firms across North America and partners with Magento, Fit for Commerce, Demandware, PFSWeb, Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft. For more information, visit http://www.lyonscg.com.
Contact:
Heather Swanson

(312) 564-3142

Los Angeles and Montreal - December 16, 2008 – Yves Rocher, a premium botanical beauty product brand backed by 49 years of success and sold to more than 30 million customers in 90 countries, today announced the launch of its eCommerce holiday shopping websites for the US and Canada powered by the Magento™ eCommerce platform. The new websites expand the company’s existing sales and distributions channels.

“Magento provided all of the features and functionality needed, while exceeding our cost and time-to-market expectations” states Catherine Leclerc, Internet Marketing Manager of Yves Rocher. “The scalable platform allows for virtually unlimited future growth potential.”

Using Magento’s multi-store management functionality, two feature-rich websites were introduced for separate geographic markets and tailored to each region’s native language and currency; the United States ( http://boutique.yvesrocherusa.com/ ) and Canada ( http://boutique.yvesrocher.ca/ ). One administrative interface controls both storefronts allowing for greater control with maximum efficiency.

By using Magento, the company was able to roll out a fully branded experience in a fraction of the time it would have required on other enterprise eCommerce platforms.

“It is fantastic to see the success Yves Rocher is having with their online boutique sites,” said Roy Rubin, CEO of Varien, the Magento Company. “We are excited to work with Yves Rocher as they expand their reach and provide enhanced shopping experiences to their customers.”

Magento’s robust and flexible technology powers the front-end storefronts and back-end administration interface. At the storefront level unique promotional features including a gift finder and a free gift with purchase selectable on the shopping cart page assist in increasing the average order value.

Conversion rates and average order value are further improved utilizing Magento’s one-page checkout, product comparisons and reviews, cross-sell, up-sell and related items, product search and a list of recently viewed items.

Behind the scenes, Yves Rocher gains scalable and user-friendly marketing, search engine optimization, catalog-management, analytics and reporting tools.

About Yves Rocher

Yves Rocher, (pronounced eve row-shay) is a brand of natural beauty products named after the founder, Mr. Yves Rocher himself. With 49 years of success, over 30 million customers in 90 countries, Yves Rocher is the creator of The botanical beauty. With more than 150 active plant ingredients and botanical complexes, we have harnessed the power of nature to work for your beauty needs.

To learn more about Yves Rocher, visit http://boutique.yvesrocherusa.com/about-us.

About Magento

Magento is groundbreaking eCommmerce software, and the fastest growing platform on the market with over 550,000+ downloads to date. A feature-rich, enterprise-grade eCommerce solution, Magento offers merchants complete flexibility and control over the user-experience, content, and functionality of their online store. Magento’s intuitive administration interface features powerful marketing, search engine optimization and catalog-management tools to give merchants the power to create sites that are tailored to their unique business needs. Designed to be completely scalable and backed by an extensive support network, Magento offers companies the ultimate eCommerce solution.

Contact:

Chris Marshall
Varien, the Magento company
310.954.8012 x235
chris@varien.com
http://www.varien.com
http://www.magentocommerce.com