The Australian Gift & Homewares Association (AGHA) has launched VENDe, an e-marketplace to facilitate online trading and networking between wholesalers and retailers in the gift and homewares industry.
Replacing AGHA’s existing online trade portal SupplierHaven, VENDe is designed to keep online trading within Australian shores and to help time poor retailers find, purchase and have new stock delivered.
With a tagline of ‘Find it. Love it. Stock it.’, the VENDe site has been designed for easy navigation and will allow buyers to have 24/7 access to wholesalers. The products range from fashion to kitchenware, homewares to outdoor living and children’s toys to stationery.
The B2B e-marketplace also allows wholesalers with an existing online store to list and upload products to VENDe with links through to their own website.
Chris Tredwell, AGHA’s product coordinator online, said the design and launch of VENDe was six months in the making.
“People really liked the concept of SupplierHaven but they found aspects of the site to be too restrictive and difficult to navigate, so with VENDe we’ve aimed to create an altogether more flexible and inclusive e-marketplace model,” he said.
Other new features will be added to VENDe over time with the aim of making the site a one-stop resource for buyers and sellers to network and grow their businesses.
“We want to make the VENDe experience about more than just simple and secure online trading. We want people to be visiting the site on a daily basis, not just to buy and sell stock, but to chat with others in the gift and homewares industry and find inspiration, ideas and advice,” Tredwell said.