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Hosted social commerce provider announces new appointments in support of launch into Benelux, Germany and Australia   Hosted social commerce applications provider, Bazaarvoice has made a number of key appointments to drive its worldwide expansion plans.  

Hosted social commerce provider announces new appointments in support of launch into Benelux, Germany and Australia

 

Hosted social commerce applications provider, Bazaarvoice has made a number of key appointments to drive its worldwide expansion plans.

 

Bazaarvoice has just opened offices in Germany, Benelux, and Australia following rapid growth in its overseas client base. The vendor said its UK customer base more than doubled last year (up 115%), whilst the rest of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) saw explosive growth of 275% and 400% respectively. Select customers signed in 2009 include Debenhams, ASDA, Sephora, Conrad, Neckermann, Jetstar, and Ticketmaster.

 

The company also stated it plans to double the size of its international business in the next 12 months.

 

Former Google account manager, Marc Rüsing, is tasked with launching Bazaarvoice in Germany. A retail veteran, Marc has over six years’ senior sales expertise behind him. Based in Düsseldorf, his aim will be to replicate Bazaarvoice’s success with US, British, and French online retailers within the German market.

 

Google, Skinkers experts join expanding business

 

Bazaarvoice has additionally recruited Joël Kremer, also from Google, to head up its Benelux operations. Kremer was responsible for building Google’s presence in the retail, entertainment, and education sectors during his six years with the company. He has worked with many of the region’s major retail brands and is an expert at generating sales in this sector. Kremer will be based in Amsterdam, with a focus on further developing Bazaarvoice’s European presence.

 

Rounding out the strategic global appointments, Graham Jackson from enterprise alerts vendor, Skinkers has been recruited to spearhead the company’s expansion into Australia. A sales veteran, he has considerable expertise launching companies in new markets and building revenues from scratch.

 

“Opening these new offices allows Bazaarvoice to continue to partner with the world’s leading brands to help them harness the power of the customer voice,” said Brett Hurt, founder and chief executive of Bazaarvoice. “I am very excited about continuing to rapidly expand our business internationally. Over 80% of UK shoppers were expected to reference customer reviews last Christmas, and we expect adoption to be similar throughout the rest of Europe and Asia. Our new country heads will provide us with strong foundations in each of these very important markets.”