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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Overseas companies cater to U.S. Web shoppers

Jessica E. Vascellaro The Wall Street Journal

Martine Trelaun used to splurge on fine French lingerie when she visited friends in Paris. Now she satisfies her craving without jumping on a plane. Trelaun, a 37-year-old graphic designer in New Haven, Conn., bought two pairs of cashmere panties from the Web site of French retailer Gentry de Paris, paying about the same price she would have paid at a French boutique, and they arrived at her office two days later.

U.S. consumers are finding it easier to purchase hard-to-find foreign goods online as overseas companies launch Web sites catering to American shoppers. Language and currency barriers, along with complicated tax codes, often plague consumers buying goods online from overseas. But with prices listed in dollars and products tailored to the tastes of U.S. consumers, a host of new sites aim to make it easier to buy online from international retailers.

Waterford Wedgwood USA Inc., a division of Ireland-based Waterford Wedgwood PLC, launched a U.S. e-commerce site last month. The site, WedgwoodUSA.com, features the Wedgwood brand of fine bone china and Jasperware collectibles, the latter of which can be difficult to find in the U.S. All products that are sold online, such as a $100 teacup and saucer, are stored in a New Jersey warehouse and generally are shipped out the next business day.

The upscale British retailer Harrods Ltd., which sees heavy American foot traffic at its flagship store in London, launched its U.S. Web site in June. The new site mirrors the British one — but with slightly different advertising, product choices and terminology. (The United Kingdom site refers to the current season as “autumn,” for example, while HarrodsUSA calls it “fall.”) Orders are filled by the U.K. store, and shipping to the U.S. usually takes about two weeks.

Foreign retailers see the Web as a way to expand their brand with few start-up costs and to test the waters before opening stores in the U.S. BJ Cunningham, co-founder of the British luxury-shoe company Georgina Goodman Ltd., says his company’s online shopping site, launched in spring 2004, has helped the company to identify cities where it may be profitable to open a store, such as New York, Chicago and Seattle.

For years, savvy online shoppers have been able to purchase some foreign products on eBay or through companies that market foreign goods to U.S. consumers.

But now, more companies are reaching out to U.S. customers themselves. Foreign retailers are only 1 percent or less of the total U.S. e-retail market now, but that number could triple within the next five years, according to Internet Retailer, a Chicago-based trade publication.

Foreign retailers are going after the booming U.S. electronic-retailing market at a time when an increasing number of consumers in their home countries are also heading to the Web. The U.S. online retail market (which includes sales of goods including auctions and travel) was $172 billion in 2005, according to market-research firm Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. In Europe, the online retail market was only about 40 billion euros (about $48 billion) in 2004, but Forrester estimates that by 2009, it will quadruple to more than 167 billion euros.

For most foreign retailers, however, launching an online shopping site in the U.S. requires more than acquiring a new domain name. Companies must navigate tax and freight duties and in some cases develop a Web site that makes it’s possible to complete transactions using different languages.

Ed Bussey, senior vice president for global marketing at Figleaves.com, operated by Figleaves Global Trading Ltd., a British intimate-apparel store that was an early entry in the U.S. e-commerce market in 2002, says that launching a new site was more difficult than expected. Even though both online audiences use English, for example, the company found it needed to translate some product descriptions for the U.S. site. “‘Panties’ is not a term commonly used in the U.K.,” Mr. Bussey says. In response to demand, the U.S. site also features a category for full-figured women.

Figleaves.com started its U.S. operation without any warehouses in the U.S., but as sales increased the company set up facilities in Detroit and Ontario, Canada. Mr. Bussey says that the new warehouses will allow the company to speed up its delivery by several days.

While foreign retailers seeking to expand into the U.S. market face several hurdles, so, too, do the consumers they are courting. Fraud remains a concern world-wide, making some already jittery U.S. shoppers wary of sending personal information overseas. Navigating sales taxes and import duties can also be a hassle as they vary widely from state to state and can be affected by whether the retailer has a warehouse in the U.S. Furthermore, the relative weakness of the dollar means U.S. consumers often may be better off hunting for similar — and cheaper — products closer to home.

Exchange rates are also dissuading even more foreign retailers from taking the leap to go online in the U.S., according to Jeff Max, chief executive of Venda, Inc., a London-based provider of e-commerce platforms. Mr. Max says that in recent months he has seen more U.S. retailers launch foreign Web sites than the other way around.

Recognizing that they may need to overcome exchange-rate problems and concerns about shipping costs, some overseas retailers are sweetening the deal for U.S. consumers. Figleaves.com offers free shipping and free returns. Georgina Goodman waives the shipping charge on orders of more than GBP 500, or about $875.

Overseas Web sites can generate interest in a particular foreign brand, if not an actual online purchase. After browsing shoes on Eccousa.com, the online commerce site of Ecco USA Inc, a subsidiary of Denmark-based Ecco Sko A/S, Paul Mayer decided to buy a pair. While the 38-year-old from Burnsville, Minn., opted to buy his black lace-ups at a U.S. store that carries the Ecco brand this time, he says he will buy his next pair online directly from Ecco.