IMA Launches a New Online Store in Time for the Holidays - Sees Dramatic Increase in Sales and Conversion Rates

GILLETTE, N.J., Feb. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- (http://www.myprgenie.com) -- International Military Antiques (IMA), the world's largest retailer of military antiques and collectibles, today announced results from its Website re-launch. The launch took place just in time for the 2010 holiday shopping season. With the help of two Magento Enterprise partners, CorraTech and OrderMotion, IMA experienced significant increases in revenue (18%), volume (10%), and conversion rates (56%). "We basically doubled the value of our site by switching to Magento," said IMA Vice President, Alex Cranmer.

After twenty years of strong sales to collectors through traditional channels via trade shows and quirky catalogs, IMA realized it was time to add eCommerce to the mix. "In 2003 we launched a practical, but limited eCommerce site," said Cranmer. "The site performed well, but as our traffic, revenue and orders increased by 25% each year, we found that we required a much more robust and scalable online store that could grow with us." After much research Cranmer selected Magento as the platform for his new site.

After a competitive bidding process, IMA picked open source consulting and implementation firm, CorraTech, "I knew I could get good design anywhere," Cranmer said. "But I wanted a strong technology company, not just another interactive agency, to do the work." CorraTech is an Enterprise Partner of Magento and has nearly a decade of experience working with commercial open source software.

"After visiting the IMA warehouse and seeing everything from Napoleonic bronze cannons to WW II shaving kits, we knew the IMA site had to be special," said Ron Bongo, CorraTech CEO. "Just the sheer number of unique SKUs presented interesting challenges."

As luck would have it, IMA already had a partnership in place with OrderMotion prior to making the switch to Magento. OrderMotion provides a complete back-end system for processing and managing orders and inventory. Immediately prior to starting the project, OrderMotion launched its Connector for Magento that marries front-end Web analytics with back-end order and inventory data. Once the connector is installed, Magento immediately becomes "aware" of all order and inventory information in the OrderMotion system. "eBusiness sites like IMA with high traffic and large numbers of SKUs that are constantly changing really benefit from the additional scalability and flexibility that our connector adds to Magento," said OrderMotion CTO, Patrick Puck.

"Because Magento is open source, and because OrderMotion provides a SaaS solution with an open API, our two teams were able to work in parallel," said Bongo. "This sped up the process and is a great example of what we call Open Solutions: Open source, SaaS, mobile, cloud computing-all working together to form a complete solution."

Since launching ahead of the Thanksgiving shopping season, IMA's new site has set sales records across the board. "Revenues are up 18% and order volume is up 10%," said Cranmer. "But most impressive of all, our conversion rate instantly went from 0.8% to 1.25% and climbing. That almost doubles the value of our site in a single stroke, and all without any of the site and business optimization we are working on with CorraTech."

"The success IMA is seeing with its new site is a testament to the benefits Magento brings to the eCommerce space," said Bongo.  "The team effort between CorraTech and OrderMotion shows the power of the open solutions approach."

About CorraTech

CorraTech is rapidly becoming the preeminent global Open Solutions Provider and works strictly with Open Solutions: commercial open source software, mobile technology, public web services, and cloud computing.  CorraTech is not another interactive agency; CorraTech is a true technology firm with a decade of experience in the bank. When CorraTech's work is done, clients feel their project was executed by the most buttoned-up firm on the planet. CorraTech's clients range from several of the largest companies in the world to startups and everything in between. Industries served include fashion, retail, manufacturing and distribution. CorraTech operates internationally and is particularly strong along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. CorraTech is based in Montclair, NJ and at www.corratech.com.

About OrderMotion(R), Inc.

OrderMotion is a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Campaign and Order Management Platform company that serves the unique needs of Direct Response and eCommerce businesses. OrderMotion is a Web-based (SaaS) technology that acts as a neutral hub for real-time data consolidation. Marketers can accurately track, measure and analyze consumer purchases from acquisition through retention and then implement timely and effective revenue-generating strategies. OrderMotion is a Certified PCI Level 1 Service Provider and is ideally suited for complex multi-pay and continuity order processing. OrderMotion is based in Burlington, MA and at www.ordermotion.com.

Contact: Jane Schloth, [email protected], 617-904-9082

SOURCE International Military Antiques