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US electronics etail giant Newegg has extended its reach into the UK as part of fresh international expansion plans.
A pilot program will from today make a limited selection of products – several thousands – available to customers in the UK and Australia, with the range expanding ‘dramatically’ throughout 2014.
The move comes after rumours earlier in the year suggesting Newegg would launch its own UK site in March.
“We’re extending the Newegg customer experience beyond North America, selectively addressing English-speaking countries overseas to begin that process,” said Soren Mills, Chief Marketing Officer for Newegg North America. “This is an important step forward for our company and we’re taking a very deliberate approach to our international growth.
“We want to ensure our new international customers have the same great experience our customers in North America have come to expect. Although the initial selection of products available in the UK and Australia represents only a small subset of the Newegg catalogue, we’ll be greatly increasing the selection in the coming months."
Customers in the UK and Australia can now visit Newegg.com and select their appropriate country and currency from new drop-down menus.
Clicking the ‘Newegg Global’ banner in the top left nav menu allows them to view products only available in their specified region, while the ‘Newegg Global Eligible’ filter also lets customers view products in sub-categories that ship internationally.
Newegg added in a statement: "Newegg is building on its e-commerce leadership in the United States. Scaling an e-commerce business to new international markets poses significant logistical challenges in the areas of order fulfillment, customer support, returns, regional product compatibility and country- specific regulations.
"To ensure a smooth expansion, Newegg plans to closely monitor all operational functions as it scales international product availability."
PCR has asked Newegg if it plans to launch an entirely separate operation in the UK. We’ll update this story with more news as we hear it.
