Online retailer Big Brown Box is no more, after being absorbed by its sister company Appliances Online. The Winning Group decided to merge the two online storefronts to unify its customer base and provide a simpler retail experience for consumers shopping across the two platforms.
Winning Group acquired Big Brown Box from Thorn Group — parent company of Radio Rentals and Rentlo — in 2011. At the time, it was Appliances Online’s closest competitor, selling whitegoods and electrical products online. The sale left the Thorn Group to focus on rentals, rather than sales, and the Winning Group relaunched Big Brown Box as an audiovisual and consumer electronics specialist towards the end of 2011.
“After listening to feedback and analysing customer data it became evident that there was significant crossover between Appliances Online and Big Brown Box customers. Although the two brands sold different products, in many cases we were dealing with the same customers: Australians seeking an efficient and affordable shopping experience online,” said John Winning, CEO of Winning Group.
“We found that customers shopping at Appliances Online would also shop with Big Brown Box for different products. With increased demand for more product categories on Appliances Online, it didn’t make sense to direct customers away from the site — we wanted to simplify the experience for our customers,” Winning said.
As of today all Big Brown Box customers will be redirected to Appliances Online.
