By B.C. Manion
What do autoharps, solar-powered water heaters, pet caskets and gate openers have in common?
At least one thing: They are among the products sold by an Odessa-based online retailer called Web Direct Brands Inc.
The company specializes in consumer goods that aren’t typically found in a local store.
They’re the kind of things that people tend to search for on the Internet, which turns out to be exactly the audience this company is after. That’s because beyond selling a vast array of items, the company has a dedicated website for each of its product lines.
For instance, say you want to buy an auto harp, but you’re not really sure where to get it or what kind to buy. Chances are you’ll turn to Google and find an ad from AutoHarpStore.com at the top of the list.
“We’ve been the largest autoharp dealer for probably about four or five years running now,” said Matt Raab, vice president of Web Direct, located at 13100 SR 54, in a stand-alone building set back from the highway.
“We probably sell about 15 percent of all autoharps sold worldwide,” added Anthony Gaeto, the company’s president and founder.
In a nutshell, this company combines the power of the Internet and deep product knowledge to sell its goods.
“The key is to become an expert on what you are selling,” Gaeto said, and then to share that information with customers. “We focus on bringing quality content to somebody who is interested in buying one of the products that we sell,” he said.
“If your website is focused enough and it becomes an authority on that very focused item, you can have a very successful website,” Gaeto said.
The website has an online selector, Raab said. This allows customers with specific needs to select the features of the autoharp they desire. For instance, perhaps a musician wants a particular type of wood because of its specific resonance and maybe they want a different number of chords because of the kind of music they play. They can use an online selector to design the autoharp they desire, Raab said.
The company has numerous websites. They include: DIYGateopeners.com, DIYPoolFence.com, DIYHurricaneSupply.com, DIYReverseOsmosis.com, DIYPatioDeck.com, TomatoMilling.com, ArtisticGateConcepts.com, WaterTechSolar.com, PetsinRemembrance.com, YouthChairStore.com and others.
The company operates in an open warehouse-type building, where employees work at desks in small open areas, interspersed with inventory for online customers.
Stepping through the warehouse offers a peak of the company’s niche markets.
There’s fitness equipment, child-sized chairs, pet caskets, reverse osmosis water filtration systems, solar water heaters, computer server racks, meat slicers and youth chairs, which Raab described as a step between a high-chair and a regular chair.
And that’s just a smattering of what’s available today.
“We always have in the pipeline anywhere from 50 to 100 ideas,” said Gaeto, whose company has grown every year since it began operations in 2002.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, Gaeto said.
“There was a big blip there, when the economy went bad,” he said. However, the company has grown every year and some years by quite a bit.
“In normal times, we’re growing 30 percent,” Gaeto said. And, the economy is improving, he said. “We’re starting to see good growth.”
He expects the company to do $7 million in sales this year.
The company got a boost recently when it was awarded a $250,000 loan through the state’s Economic Gardening Loan administered by The Black Business Investment Fund for the state of Florida.
The loan was granted to increase the company’s manufacturing capacity and expand its marketing and IT departments.
Gaeto said the loan was at least partially responsible for the company’s hiring of 10 employees, bringing its total work force to 35. Without the loan, Gaeto said, he probably would have expanded his work force by just three employees.
“The problem we have in this business is that we have all of these great ideas, we’re just not able to act on them. The loan was purely giving us the opportunity to act on more product lines that we had ideas about,” he said.
“It’s a good loan program. It certainly gets you moving. The first year is the only year that you’re interest only. Then you’re paying back principal over a three-year period. You have to know that you can get that money.
“It’s a pretty aggressive payback. If you’re not able to generate the additional business, it could be crippling,” Gaeto added.
The company has an optimistic outlook.
Gaeto is predicting “significant, steady growth.”
It is so confident about its potential that it has purchased the property next door in December. “We knew that we were growing fast enough that we were going to outgrow this building,” Gaeto said.
On its website, company officials explain Web Direct Brands’ philosophy: “Our stores are built around the premise that a well-informed buyer makes the best customer for a mutually beneficial relationship.”
“We feel that we’re there to give the information and let the customer make an informed decision,” Raab said.
