Hayneedle
| File:Netshops-logo.png | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | eCommerce |
| Founded | 2002 as Quadrant II |
| Founder | Doug Nielsen, Julie Mahloch, Mark Hasebroock |
| Headquarters | 12720 I St, Ste 200, Omaha, Nebraska 68137,  Omaha, NebraskaUnited States |
Key people | Carter Cast (President & CEO) |
| Website | www |
 | This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. (February 2009) |
Hayneedle is an online retail company based in Omaha, Nebraska, The United States of America (U.S.). The company owns and operates over 220 online niche stores featuring a wide variety of products. Hayneedle currently employs over 300 people in the Omaha Metro area.
On August 11, 2009, Hayneedle, formerly known as NetShops, unveiled its new name and branded website, Hayneedle.com, from which customers can shop all of the company's niche stores.
History
Hayneedle began in 2002 with a single store, Hammocks.com. Within a few years, about a dozen more stores were added to round out the yard and patio furnishings category that became the foundation of Hayneedle's initial success. Today Hayneedle's proprietary ecommerce platform enables the continual development and launching of online stores specializing in a variety of product categories that the company recognizes as underserved in competing retail stores.
Hayneedle acquired Duluth, Minnesota based Thralow, Inc. stores in 2006, consisting of the ecommerce properties Binoculars.com and Telescopes.com, among others. In September 2007 Hayneedle acquired GiftBaskets.com to help round out the gift categories represented by their niche stores.
In February, 2007, Hayneedle, then known as NetShops, laid off approximately 50 employees as part of a major internal restructuring, but has subsequently grown to over 300 full-time employees in addition to part-time and temporary workers.
The Chairman of Hayneedle Inc., Doug Nielsen, is a co-founder of the company with his sister Julie Mahloch and business partner Mark Hasebroock, who is currently serving as Vice-Chairman. In October 2007 Carter Cast joined Hayneedle, then known as NetShops, as the new President and CEO. Carter helped found BlueNile.com and most recently held the position of President and CEO of WalMart.com. Shortly after, in March 2008, Hayneedle appointed Ash ElDifrawi as the company's first CMO. Ash was a former Executive at Google.[1]
In December, 2008 Hayneedle, then known as Netshops, was featured on "Eye on America," an informative television program covering a variety of topics, trends, and issues. The company was featured as part of the show’s series, "Online Innovators: Shopping for a Stress Free Life."
On February 5, 2009, Hayneedle, then known as NetShops, announced the laying off of 42 employees as part of an organizational restructuring necessitated by the economic downturn.[2] The company has since hired several full-time staff to address rebounding sales and aid in its re-branding effort.
On August 11, 2009, Hayneedle unveiled its new name and branded website, Hayneedle.com, from which customers can shop all of the company's niche stores. [3]
Hayneedle is privately held and funded by Insight Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital. More information can be found on Hayneedle's corporate website, www.hayneedleinc.com.
Ratings
The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce named Hayneedle (then known as NetShops) one of "Omaha's Best Places to Work" in 2005 and 2006. They also awarded Hayneedle with the "2007 Excellence in Business Award" for local businesses.[4]
As NetShops, the company is rated "satisfactory" by the Nebraska Better Business Bureau.[5] The BBB processed a total of 225 complaints about this company in the last 36 months (as of 8/15/08), the standard BBB reporting period. Of the total of 225 complaints closed in 36 months, 72 were closed in the last year.[5] On BizRate.com, a comparison shopping website, the company received 79% positive reviews, 5% neutral reviews, and 16% negative reviews in the past 3 months (as of 8/15/08).[6]
In 2007, Inc.com, the website for Inc. magazine, listed Hayneedle, then known as NetShops, as #154 on its "5,000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America" list, which determines ranking based on revenue growth. Hayneedle ranked #13 on the same list in 2006. Of all online retail companies, Hayneedle (as NetShops) ranked #5 on Inc.'s list for 2007.[7]
Internet Retailer's Top 500 list placed Hayneedle (as NetShops) at #104 based on online gross revenue in 2007, and in 2008 they named Hayneedle (as NetShops) the 15th largest mass merchant on the web based on total web sales, and the 82nd largest retailer. In 2007 and 2008, Internet Retailer Magazine named Hayneedle (as NetShops) one of their Top 100 best internet retailers.[8]
References
- ^ "Netshops Inc. Appoints Ash ElDifrawi as Company's First Chief Marketing Officer". PR Newswire. 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- ^ http://www.ketv.com/news/18647552/detail.html NetShops Cuts 42 Workers From Its Workforce
- ^ http://www.omaha.com/article/20090812/MONEY/708129984 NetShops Rebounds with Rebrand
- ^ "Competition Determines Top Ten Omaha Employers". Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. 2006-03-27. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
- ^ a b http://nebraska.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=135&bbb=0714&firm=104009872
- ^ http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/cust_reviews__cat_id--30000000__mid--152388.html
- ^ "Inc. 500". Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
- ^ "Internet Retailer". Internet Retailer. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-27.