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Case Study

EasyEverything: The internet shop

By Nirmalya Kumar and Brian Rogers

14 pages

May 2000

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Reference: IMD-3-0874

By February 2000 easyEverything the first chain of large Internet cafés to be conceived anywhere in the world had already successfully launched 5 shops in London. The company also aggressively planned to launch an additional 50 shops across Europe by 2002. EasyEverything was just one of several companies operating under the UK-based parent company easyGroup which also managed easyJet airlines and several other start-up ventures. Stelios Haji-Iaonnou chairman and owner of easyGroup was a charismatic and wealthy entrepreneur known for his down to earth “no frills” style that had come to exemplify the easy brand. His mission for easyEverything was simple: to make easyEverything the cheapest way to access the Internet. He also envisioned easyEverything as a virtual alternative to department stores where users could shop send emails and surf the Internet. He proclaimed “EasyEverything can be a betting center a music store a cinema or a travel agency. We can become the Wal-Mart of Internet access.” However some industry experts questioned whether Internet cafés were a viable long- term concept because of rapid changes in technology such as wireless Internet access. Furthermore easyEverything faced several internal challenges in 2000 which included how to quickly replicate the business model and how to incorporate innovative ideas while expanding. Despite these challenges managers at easyEverything realized that there were significant opportunities for growth because of the endless revenue-generating possibilities that the Internet offered.

Keywords

Internet Start-up, Brand Extension

Settings

Europe
2000

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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This case study is part of a series

EasyEverything: The internet shop
EasyEverything: The internet shop (Abridged)
Www.easyrentacar.com

This case study is part of a series

EasyEverything: The internet shop
EasyEverything: The internet shop (Abridged)
Www.easyrentacar.com

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