AO Chooses DotWhat as it’s Global Domain Acquisition Partner

By DW17 | November 26, 2015
AO, the UK-based online retail giant is ‘…on a mission to become a leading European online retailer of electrical products.’ To help them achieve their digital ambitions, AO chose DotWhat as it's strategic domain acquisition partner.

As Principal Technology Officer Ivan Coetzee stated:

“Transparency is part of our DNA at AO, and DotWhat has consistently proven itself as an open, transparent and invaluable strategic partner.”

AO was particularly drawn to the straightforwardness of DotWhat’s approach in terms of domain pricing versus its own consultancy costs.

"Unlike the majority of providers in this space,’ says Ivan, ‘DotWhat gives AO the certainty of knowing exactly what they are paying for in each purchase, and this is a real achievement in an industry that thrives on opacity and vagueness."

Objectives

The key objectives for AO were:

  • Securing key domains at competitive prices and within tight deadlines
  • Strategic advice and expert sparring on its domain portfolio
  • Insights into the current and expected value of its domains
  • Managing AO’s expectations effectively and clearly
  • Identifying new domain opportunities
  • Transparent approach to domain prices versus consultancy costs
  • Growing AO’s own knowledge of the domain industry, and
  • Full control fro AO of the procurement process

 

Solutions and Key Results:

DotWhat worked closely with AO to map out the procurement process to make sure that AO fully understood what was required at each stage to remain confident and in control of the entire process despite the complexity of the domain industry.

Ivan Coetzee commented:

“The investment of time and resources that DotWhat made was astonishing. But even more impressive is the unambiguous way they communicate their knowledge of the industry, the procurement process itself and the frequent insights and advice they were able to offer us at every stage.”

In the end, AO achieved all key objectives, and gained:
  • A clear and actionable overview of its domain portfolio
  • A domain-by-domain breakdown of the monetary and commercial value of its domains
  • Transparency in pricing and the procurement process resulted in cost savings, improved overall control and confidence in dotwhat’s ability to continue to deliver measurable results
  • A deeper understanding of the domain acquisition industry which enables AO to identify new opportunities and potential risks in its portfolio

“AO has experienced a real uplift in its domain strategy as a direct result of DotWhat’s work, and we will continue to work with Marcus and his team to drive our domain strategy and acquisitions in the years ahead.”