what’s new
A mighty successful ape In a world where you can buy anything, any time, how do retailers stand out from the crowd? Easy – be the coolest kid on the block. Mighty Ape’s ‘coolest online store’ tagline is more than proven by a browse around their website, and visits to their Facebook page and Twitter profile. But, as in any successful business, there’s substance behind the image. The company scored four significant awards at the 2012 NetGuide Web Awards, including Best Online Shopping site and the top award, Best Overall Site. The awards were decided by votes from the public, with over 225,000 New Zealanders casting their vote. From their new distribution centre at 221 Albany Highway, Mighty Ape’s team of ‘Gorillas’ and ‘Monkeys’ process thousands of online orders per week. Customers can choose from over 6 million products, including games, books, movies, home and office products, toys and collectibles, music, electronics and computers. The best sellers are held in stock in the Albany warehouse, with back catalogue products ordered as required from over 120 different local and international suppliers. Overnight delivery is guaranteed within New Zealand on over 173,960 products.
Social Marketing Gorilla Che Kamariera (who manages a hip-hop artist in his spare time), say the company culture is built around the customer. “We put the customer first, and always put ourselves in the our customer’s shoes,” he says. “We think about what they want, and how we can improve the service for them. We find that when our customers are happy, they recommend us to their friends and our business continues to grow. We invest in services for customers before we invest in advertising.”
In 2010 an Australian website was launched. And a new service, Mighty Ape Marketplace, began last year to allow users to sell pre-loved games, movies, books and music. There are no listing fees, and the payments are handled by Mighty Ape, with a standard commission on each sale. Che says this service was introduced to give their customers a safe and convenient way to buy and sell their pre-loved goods. “As we already have detailed descriptions for the products on our site,” he says, “listing products for sale is quick and hassle free.” The online testimonials from satisfied customers around the world show how Mighty Ape’s strategy of style plus substance has equalled success.
www.mightyape.co.nz twitter.com/MightyApe www.facebook.com/ MightyApe
RapidPro opens in Rosedale Rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing services are sweeping the world by storm, and New Zealand is no exception. To cater to the growing needs of the local market, RapidPro has opened a locallyowned and operated specialist prototyping and low volume manufacturing service bureau in Auckland. Offering the full range of rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing technologies, RapidPro NZ is fully equipped to handle your prototyping requirements. RapidPro NZ can build what you create in Objet, SLS, FDM and ZCorp, creating models and prototypes in plaster, thermoplastic, plastic, nylon, rubber-like plastics and the full spectrum of digital materials. With links to Redeye On Demand Australasia, the largest FDM build centre in the Southern Hemisphere, RapidPro NZ is also able to produce parts and prototypes suitable for functional testing in a full range of circumstances. Fused deposition modelling is just
one of the additive manufacturing technologies RapidPro uses to make projects come to life. Objet Connex 3D printing is used to create products with various different materials in a single build, from soft rubber to hard plastic. Able to print in 107 different digital materials in a single build, Objet printing removes the limitations of complex geometries, producing fine detail parts in a single build. EOS SLS additive manufacturing combines strength and surface suitable for one-off parts to small production quantities. The most affordable prototyping technology is ZCorp plaster printing. Cost effective and ideal for form models, ZCorp is best suited to projects like large architectural models, full-colour maps and conceptual form studies. RapidPro NZ provides a local solution for all your rapid prototyping needs. Whether you have a prototyping machine of your own and just need help to clear the backlog from time to time, or you are looking at decreasing time to market by prototyping models or parts for form, fit and functional testing and tooling, call RapidPro NZ and speak to their experienced engineers about your project requirements. They will use the complete range of experience and expertise from their New Zealand and international offices to ensure the most suitable solution to your next project. www.rapidpro.co.nz 09 443 6413 www.nhba.org.nz FYI november 2012 11