Red Oxx Cracks Internet Retailer Magazines Top 1000

Number 907 and Counting…
Early in the 1990s I heard about this thing called the Internet and wondered what I could do to get with the times. Starting with a humble landing page Red Oxx began to explore this new uncharted and vast space called the World Wide Web. Still despite all the hype we really weren’t doing any business to speak of. Yet the possibility of reaching out across the void and connecting with someone in Tokyo was very appealing.

I just had to figure out how to make it happen or my business partner was going to make life difficult for me. "I don’t care how you do it, just make it work." A simple statement but coming from Perry it spoke volumes.

At the time we were struggling with trying to let go of our weight training/contract manufacturing model and move to a direct to customer model. The traditional cycle of printing and mailing our luggage catalogs and brochures was very quickly becoming a cost prohibitive exercise. Factor in that just about everyone was moving their manufacturing to China it made it a do or die situation.

By 2000 it was time to launch a real "e-commerce" site, figuring if we could take a credit card we could move from the fax an order era into the big time. Yeah right, still the new site showed promise and we actually got people to call us on the phone. So I had a virtual catalog but the site was not pumping orders like I had imagined. It was time to really get involved with the development of the brand and the website itself.

Searching around for books about the internet proved fruitless; sure there are the so called gurus who have figured a few things out here and there. But to really understand how to put it all together takes time and a talented team. Early on I signed up for an email newsletter from Internet Retailer Magazine. This new startup had some humble beginnings I recall when the magazine was not more than a few pages and their convention had less than few hundred attendees.

As the online model began to be realized the magazine continued to expand its content and the conventions are now attended by thousands instead of hundreds. I noticed one year that a list of the top 500 Internet Retailers was being compiled. Studying this list I noticed brands I was familiar with and others I had no idea of what they sold. As the industry grew and the list changed I was always checking to see how we stacked up. Making the Top 500 was going to be quite a task as mainline brands asserted dominance on the web. I am sure the folks at Internet Retailer had the same thoughts since they have now come out with the Next 500.

So our making the list at number 907 is quite the event for our little company here in Montana. Over the years we have worked hard to bring you the best online shopping experience combined with a killer product. Our new launch this year marks the 5.0 version of Red Oxx.com and I must say judging by your response our best iteration to date. And more than likely you will find that Red Oxx is ‚Not sold a store near you‘ but is nearly always available on the web.

Cheers,
Jim Markel CEO