Industry E-commerce Founded 2001 | Headquarters Warwickshire, UK Type of business Private | |
Founder Albert Scardino (Chairman) - Duncan Hilleary (Chief Executive) Key people Duncan Hilleary (Chief Executive) - Rebecca Healey (Product Sourcing) - Alec Shaw Stewart (Webmaster) - Phil Kempson (CRM) - Jill Crawley (customer service) - Lisa Wilson (Finance) - Michael Hawkins (Online content) Services http://auctionair-FT.com, http://TIMESONLINE.co.uk/auctionroom, http://www.BRITISHLEGION.org.uk/auction, http://auctionair.co.uk/INFLIGHT Number of employees Less than 250 (January 2010) | ||
Auctionair.co.uk is an online retailer based in the United Kingdom. It is operating a sealed-bid auction (or "Blind Auction") system where bidders cannot see what others have offered.
Contents
There are two bidding products, the High Bid and the Low Bid.
History
Auctionair was founded in 2001 by Spafax founder Duncan Hilleary and Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Albert Scardino as an experimental project for British Airways to provide entertaining retail opportunities to passengers. After various further trials in 2002 the business was launched online in July 2003. In 2006 the company launched The Times Online Auction Room as a co-branded partnership with The Times. In 2008 the company launched the FT Auction Room with the Financial Times. The company now claims to enjoy over 40% repeat business from its customers and has carried out over 600,000 profitable transactions with them. Auctionair is funded by private investors.
High Bid
The highest bid wins at a fixed date. Also for some auction lots all bids above an undisclosed Secret Price can also win. When bids win there is no obligation to go ahead and purchase but the non-refundable entry fees cost £5 per bid. The range of lots is strictly limited to a hand-picked selection of luxury holidays, weekend breaks; high-end technology and luxury goods. The average discount achieved against supplier suggested retail prices has been 48% for the last 20,000 winners up to the end of year 2009.
Low Bid
This is a reverse auction where the lowest unique bid wins the chance to buy at the price offered once a predetermined number of bids have been placed. Entry fees vary from £3 to £25 per bid. This requires thought and skill. The last 700 bids to win up to the end of the year 2009 enabled £708,324 worth of luxury goods, holidays and cars to be purchased for £17,323 - an average saving of £1,004 per winning bid. 18 BMW Mini Cooper S have sold for an average of £62 each by Low Bid. One in 58 people who entered had a winning bid.
Sale of Unclaimed Winning Bids
Once a customer has bid with Auctionair they are subsequently given the chance to take up winning bids that have not been used to purchase by other winners. (Auctionair High Bid customers often make multiple bids and then decide not to purchase everything that turns out to have won. They therefore accumulate many unclaimed winning bids)
Charity Auctions
Auctionair dedicates proceeds from certain auctions to charity and has worked with The British Red Cross, Sightsavers International, Orbis, Save The Rhino, The Royal British Legion and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Overview
This business model alters the relationship between suppliers and consumers for the benefit of both:
Consumers pay an entry fee and can then name their own price in an entertaining environment without being bound to their offer.
Suppliers gain promotion and data and can also dispose of excess inventory discreetly without undermining published rates. Suppliers include, Taj Hotels & Resorts, Orient Express, Abercrombie and Kent, Small Luxury Hotels, Sofitel, Swissotel, Sony, Dunhill, Cartier, Jimmy Choo, Ducati, Apple, MG and Sir Hans Sloane Chocolates.
Auctionair also deploys its technology as co-brand partner for The Financial Times, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Button Club, Small Luxury Hotels, Ink Publishing and several charities.