So zavvi.co.uk has appeared again, courtesy of those nice people at The Hut. I can't say I'm surprised. When we met with The Hut it was obvious that they're on a mission to increase their reach, and they probably picked up a decent sized database of known entertainment buyers for a song from the administrators.As soon as Lee told me that The Hut had bought it, I knew exactly what it would look like, and there were no surprises - The Hut's bog-standard white label solution with a bit of green added.
A capital 'Z' in zavvi though - they obviously didn't think the style guide was worth paying extra for. Cathy will be apoplectic.
MCV reported today that the purchase will create 100 new jobs. Frankly I don't see it - I can only imagine that there's a grant flying around in the Liverpool area. The website is just a reskin so they need a few people to look after content and merchandising. They already have the warehouse and the products, and a customer services team; so it feels like maybe up to 10 new people would be needed. But if true it's good news - although it would have been nice if some of the zavvi people had been given the opportunity to join the new operation. Maybe once they start hiring that'll happen.
What the buyout has done is given me an 
excuse to post another gratuitous image under the disguise of 'journalism'. The Hut is selling a range of lingerie on the new site, and by a happy coincidence they're also having a bounceback sale... you fill in the rest.
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6 comments:
Who on earth is going to buy their pants from zavvi?! What is the world coming to!
I really should have distanced myself from this, I know - but seeing as I was still at zavvi just a week ago dealing with the online business it's really sucker punched me somewhat.
The brand might be defunct, but to see what they've morphed our lovely site into just makes me sick to my stomach. It's just so cheap and nasty.
Tis a pretty grim picture all round. Presumably the off-shore thing was a major draw for The Hut, if that is the case it remains to be seen what happens to the brand in the medium term.
I know it might sound insensitive, but it does tickle me somewhat seeing pants on the site - I'm wishing I'd slipped that one in at the first requirements meeting!
"as a customer, I want to be able to purchase my underwear from one of the UK's top entertainment retailer, in order to ensure my pants are as entertaining as possible"
(note well-formed agile user story)
I'm not sure if the offshore thing is relevant - I seem to remember that that Hut already hasd a presence in Guernsey (with Sigma). I think it's just part of their strategy to get as many customers as possible going through their platform (cheap, open source) and fulfilment operations.
Buy cheap pants from Zavvi. Says it all really!
Found this on Flickr and thought you might like a laugh..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretlondon/3338990389/
Good to see that in the face of being made redundant someone still had a sense of humour.
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