Optaros Assembles New Online Shopping Concept for Wonderbox

Business Wire, Feb 5, 2008

BOSTON & GENEVA & MUNICH, Germany -- Optaros Inc., an assembler of Next Generation Internet applications, today announced its design and assembly of a new online shopping concept for Wonderbox, a leading international Internet and retail company that sells the "Wonderbox", which is a themed gift box containing vouchers for 6000 experiences from which the recipient can choose. Optaros redesigned and re-platformed Wonderbox's online store, creating a Web 2.0 experience that drives excitement, usability and conversion rates.

Innovation is exploding in ecommerce as the industry reaches the end of its first decade. New online shopping experiences, including Wonderbox's unique retailing concept, are proving to be successful and making legacy storefronts appear old and tired. Wonderbox sells experiences in a box through a large network of partners and distributors, including Thomas Cook, Virgin and Cultura. Since its launch in 2004, Wonderbox continues to increase its influence in the rapidly growing ecommerce retail industry, boosting its sales.

As international demand for this gift continues to increase so does the number of customers, partners and distributors that Wonderbox manages and interacts with. Optaros' Assembly Methodology provided rapid prototyping to turn this new retailing concept into a compelling user experience that makes thoughtful use of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) and layering to create an extremely usable and compelling site. The underlying technology is assembled from components in a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) to provide long-term agility and scalability.

"Optaros enabled us to optimize our vision by uniquely combining their Next Generation Internet (NGI) design skills with hardcore technical expertise," said Bertile Burel, CEO for Wonderbox. "Seeing the full solution in prototype so early on in the Optaros process is highly valuable, and their open source expertise saved us significant money on re-platforming. Optaros' flexible and scalable multi-channel ecommerce assembly enables us to scale our business, increase sales and improve partner and customer relationships."

Optaros assembled Wonderbox's ecommerce solution in only six months. Optaros' global team from Bucharest, Geneva, Boston and Zurich redesigned the ecommerce front end and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, including integration with back-end logistics and external partners.

"Our retail clients are working aggressively to bring compelling new online shopping experiences to market," said Philippe Grosjean, vice president of Optaros. "Wonderbox's success is more proof that new ecommerce concepts can lead to significant results with the right partners."

About the Optaros Ecommerce Practice

Optaros' Ecommerce Practice designs Next Generation online shopping concepts that deliver superior business performance. The Optaros Assembly Methodology enables the rapid conceptualization and deployment of these new concepts. Clients choose to leverage existing systems or replace components in a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach. Optaros serves over 100 clients including Biogen Idec, Endeca, Merck/Serono, New York Times, Smart Bargains, Swisscom and many others. For more about Optaros, go to www.optaros.com.

About Wonderbox

Wonderbox.fr is a leading purveyor of European experiential gifts. The company's innovative products range from racecar driving to weekends in one-of-a-kind hotels. Whether you are looking for the perfect gift for friends and family, or seeking a modern way to thank a business partner, employee or client, Wonderbox's experiential themed gift boxes offer pre-selected experience choices which the recipient will enjoy "browsing" through in the comfort of their home.

Each Wonderbox includes a glossy guidebook, as well as a gift certificate, which allows the recipient to choose the experience he or she wishes to indulge in. Wonderbox's success is based on a serious commitment to quality, customer satisfaction, service and partnership to insure that the recipient of a Wonderbox enjoys a memorable experience. Wonderbox believes that one of the greatest luxuries of modern life is to create a lifelong memory through the fulfillment of dreams.