eircom provides business broadband to Hampers and Co

1. Hampers & Co.
Case Study | Broadband

2. 2 Case Study - Hampers & Co
Customer Overview
Based in Thurles, Hampers & Co. creates and
sells luxury food and drink hampers, using
its online store to drive sales globally. The
development of its customised online store
means that it now ships 30,000 hampers and
has a turnover of € 2.2 million.
The Need
As it looked to grow its business, Hampers &
Co. needed a solid and reliable communications
infrastructure on which to base its fully
functioning online store.
The Solution
Hampers & Co. selected eircom broadband for
its Thurles and Dublin sites.
Benefit
eircom broadband has enabled Hampers & Co.
to drive sales globally through its customised
online store. With its warehouse located in
Thurles, Co.Tipperary and an office in Dublin,
broadband has facilitated communications
between the two sites through the use of video
conferencing. This has enhanced productivity
and customer service.

3. Case Study - Hampers & Co 3

4. 4 Case Study - Hampers & Co
Hampers & Co.
taste sweet
success
From humble beginnings in 1993 to a
successful multimillion euro business
that exports products around the world,
Hampers & Co. has come a long way. The
business was founded by Emer Purcell 20
years ago, at which time she was compiling
and selling 300 hampers a year. Hampers
and co will be celebrating 20 years in
business in 2012.
Over the years, as the firm grew exponentially, it
has maximised its use of the internet and eircom
broadband to enable its expansion.
With locations in Thurles and Dublin, Hampers &
Co. sources, compiles and sells luxury hampers
for a range of occasions. With an emphasis
on food, wine and liqueurs, the hampers are
primarily targeted at the corporate market.
More recently Hampers & Co. has broadened its
focus on the consumer market and is making a
concerted effort to raise its profile among this
particular segment.

5. Case Study - Hampers & Co 5
“The web is key. People want to use the web
primarily due to its convenience. By continuing
to making our products available online we can
tap into that demand and expand our
global reach.“
Emer Purcell, MD, Hampers & Co.
Moving forward with broadband
As Hampers & Co. continues to expand, the
internet has become even more important as
the firm is keen to use its website to process
sales. “Originally we had a brochure-type site
where people could view some of our products
and send us emails. We have just revamped
the site and it has now become the backbone
of the business through which we are able to
process and send out all our orders, from 1 item
up to 99, with no passwords, and no account
setup required.” explains Alan Metcalfe, General
Manager.
The company has progressed its website
primarily as a result of user demand but also to
drive efficiencies and reduce the amount of time
spent on administrative tasks.
“Having a fully customised online store is a
huge step forward for us. Previously we used to
take phone and fax ordering, then we moved
to email ordering; now all orders are processed
automatically through the site. Even though we
make ourselves available if any problems arise,
we are saving a good deal of time and the whole
process is streamlined, ultimately improving our
customer service.”

6. 6 Case Study - Hampers & Co
Broadband is an essential tool in Hampers &
Co.’s arsenal, and the firm enjoys the many
benefits of eircom broadband. The ability to
remotely update the website using the new
content management system, for example,
means Hampers & Co. can select images and
hamper designs from its product database
remotely, enabling them to provide timely and
relevant products and information to all clients
and website visitors.
One of the firm’s key objectives is to provide
a streamlined, efficient website to customers.
“We wanted to give people a user-friendly site,
which reflects our high-quality products, ” said
Metcalfe. “With our new-look site, we can do
just that.”
Broadband is key to success
The website is not the only aspect of Hampers
& Co.’s business that has benefited from
broadband. Internal communications have also
been revolutionised by the firm’s high-speed
internet connection.
The firm’s Thurles site houses its warehouse
facility; while Managing Director Purcell recently
relocated to Dublin. By making clever use of
its broadband connection, Hampers & Co. has
been able to keep the heart of the business in
Tipperary, enabling it to avoid the high cost of
moving the company to Dublin.
“We extended our phone system via broadband
to Dublin so that when we get a call into Thurles
for Emer we can simply transfer the call to
Dublin in much the same way as transferring
the call to the person sitting next to you,”
explains Metcalfe.

7. Case Study - Hampers & Co 7
Effective Remote Management
with Video Conferencing
Hampers & Co. also used broadband to set
up a video conferencing facility between its
two locations; this enables Purcell to maintain
strong communication links even though she is
based in Dublin. A camera set up in the Thurles
warehouse which feeds through to Purcell’s
laptop means the Managing Director can
preserve a hands-on feel with the warehouse;
she regularly uses the camera to check and
supervise display hampers as well as the
presentation and content of sample hampers
going out to customers. In essence, the video
conferencing and the camera connection has
allowed Purcell to operate with confidence
remotely, according to Metcalfe.
Future needs
Looking to the future, Hampers & Co. plans to
continue to expand and market its business. The
firm aims to make use of emerging media such
as Facebook and other social networking sites to
raise its brand profile online.
“Essentially, we want to make sure we are
competitive in all aspects of our business, and
we aim to do that through effective use of
technology. We want to carry on meeting our
customers’ needs and offer them everything
they want from gourmet foods and fine wine, to
a user-friendly online store,” concludes Purcell.

8. Get in touch
To find out how eircom broadband can benefit
your business, please contact your
eircom Account Manager.
www.eircomforbusiness.ie