LaGarde introduces new entry-level version of Storefront

[February 25th 2002]

LaGarde has announced the release of StoreFront Now, a new e-commerce service offering targeted at small business service providers who serve the needs of early-stage and entry-level merchants.

StoreFront Now has been designed to allow Internet service providers and other small business service providers with the tools necessary to compete head to head with e-commerce service providers such as Yahoo! Stores and bCentral. The StoreFront Now service solution is fully Web-based and meets the point and click, wizard-driven needs of entry-level merchants. From a familiar browser interface, the StoreFront Now E-Commerce Manager, merchants can manage store operations, process orders, administer sales and promotions, add and update product information and more. StoreFront Now offers Web service providers a fully private labeled e-commerce solution that is easy to support and provide to merchants. StoreFront Now Web service provider licensees can fully customize the StoreFront Now backend to build brand and support marketing strategies.

The StoreFront Now Web Store Provisioning tools automate the provisioning of StoreFront Now Web stores with a simple, wizard-driven interface. They enable the server administrator to quickly and easily create a new account, specify the site location and create the Web store's database, or the entire site creation process may be fully automated for real-time site creation from a browser-based interface by the merchant. The StoreFront Now Web Store Provisioning tools create the specified directories, install the application files, connect the database and establish the proper permissions. StoreFront Now also includes a Management Console that allows Web administrators to view and edit account information and Web store settings and includes a fully automated suite of reporting tools for managing information about all StoreFront Now Web stores running on the server, the total monthly commissions due to LaGarde, new stores that have been created and stores that have been cancelled.

StoreFront Now offers Web service and other small business service providers a competitive advantage over vendors offering service-only e-commerce solutions. StoreFront Now is fully scalable to LaGarde's StoreFront e-commerce software platform, thereby allowing growing businesses the opportunity to scale to the StoreFront software platform when their e-business operations demand a more extensible solution. The StoreFront Now Web store platform is proprietary to each licensee and cannot be ported by the merchant to another provider, thereby significantly strengthening customer retention rates.

"We are very excited about the phenomenal response StoreFront Now is already garnering in the marketplace," said Bob LaGarde, Founder and CEO of LaGarde. "Based on pre-sales activity, StoreFront Now will be in front of more than a quarter of a million merchants this month and we expect to reach more than a million merchants by mid-year."

"After reviewing the StoreFront Now product we were blown away!" said Jack Rosen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for i1internet Hosting. "We were sold immediately on it. The ease of use and affordable cost will revolutionize the way startup businesses and beginners to the Internet can create their own Web presence."

Charter StoreFront Now licensees include: One World ISP Corporation, PowerSurge Technologies Inc., i1internet Hosting, InfoQuest, Suite500, CompuTech Business Solutions Inc., myHosting.com, 724 Hosting, ActiveHost, iRapid Inc, CyberSharks.Net, Chicago Webs, Applied Innovations, Netcetera, Banet Internet Services and Ariel Design Inc.

Links
StoreFront		http://www.storefront.net