Build.com
 | |
Formerly called | Improvement Direct, Inc |
|---|---|
| Industry | E-tail |
| Founded | September 1, 2000 in Chico, California, USA |
| Founder | Christian Friedland, David Boctor |
| Headquarters | Chico, California, USA |
| Products | Plumbing, Lighting, Hardware, Appliances |
| Brands | FaucetDirect.com, LightingDirect.com, Handlesets.com, VentingDirect.com |
Number of employees | 400 |
| Parent | Wolseley plc |
| Website |
www |
Build.com is an online home improvement retailer. The company began selling faucets online in 2000, and now sells many other home improvement products with a focus on plumbing, lighting, hardware and appliances.
History
Build.com is considered among its employees to be the “best kept secret” in online home improvement. Started in 2000 by Chris Friedland and David Boctor, the company has now grown to the third largest online home improvement retailer in the United States, directly competing with giants such as Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Amazon.
The company began as a Chico State masters project focusing on developing an online business and initially concentrated on selling plumbing products online. Friedland worked at a local plumbing business, Slakey Brothers, at the time and saw the need and opportunity for growth. Faucetdirect.com, the first site, was launched out of Friedland’s apartment and had a total of 3 employees, who built it from the ground up, while helping customers and selling products at the same time. Build.com has since expanded its categories to include plumbing, lighting, HVAC, power tools, hardware, appliances, flooring and, most recently, home decor.
Over the past 15 years, the company’s name has changed twice: from improvementdirect.com in 2006, to Build.com in 2010. In 2007, Build.com was sold to Wolseley Int., the world’s largest trade distributor of plumbing and heating products. This gave rise to a symbiotic relationship with their new sister company, Ferguson Ent.
Since its inception, Build has always focused on the customer experience. When customers call into Build.com, they speak with real product experts at the Chico facility, who are trained in every category within the company, from plumbing, lighting and flooring to door/cabinet hardware and ventilation. Each person within the facility has a unique name, making it easy for customers to contact and work with the same person for current and future projects. These product experts also offer support before and after any sales to assist each customer completely.
In 2009 Build.com launched its professional program aimed at providing building professionals the highest service level in the industry. Professionals are partnered with a highly trained account manager who helps run every aspect of their project. Combined with their professional pricing, Build.com gives pros a competitive edge. Professionals can also direct their customers to their own account manager in order to assist the customer with the planning and purchasing process for their home remodel.
Build.com currently employs 490 people at its headquarters in Chico, California. Build.com’s main goal has always been to simplify home improvement. As a pure-play e-commerce site, it can provide more products, finishes and quantities than brick-and-mortar stores, and ships in all 50 states, as well as Canada. As of 2014, it finished the calendar year with a record breaking half a billion dollars in sales.
About the company
Build.com employs approximately 490 people (at July 2015), and is a subsidiary of Wolseley (builders' merchant).[1]
The achievements and business models of Build.com have received coverage in the Internet Retailer Magazine.[2][3]
Since 2007, Build.com has been named in the Internet Retailer Magazine’s annual Top 500 List of online retailers[4]
References
- ↑ Chico News and Review."Chico Internet success sold", "News & Review", 26 April 2007. Retrieved on 2007-4-26.
- ↑ Lara Sasken."Improvement Direct Building Up Business Using Tealeaf", "Tealeaf", 6 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-6.
- ↑ Raymund Flandez."Three Best Ways to Convert Web Traffic Into Sales", "The Wall Street Journal", 4 September 2009. Retrieved on 2009-9-4.
- ↑ Internet Retailer. (http://www.internetretailer.com/top500/profiles/Build-com-Inc/#Build-com-Inc "Top 500 Guide"], "Internet Retailer", 14 May 2012. Retrieved on 2012-5-14.