Shaking Up The Online Book Market With The Launch Of Word Of Sport
Neuchi was first approached by Liam Doyle, founder of Word of Sport, in early 2006.
Liam formerly co-managed the iconic sports book store, Sportspages, located just off London's Charing Cross Road, which sadly closed its doors for the last time in January of 2006.
Described by Sports Illustrated magazine as the "world's coolest bookstore" and by Matthew Engel of the Financial Times as "the intellectual headquarters of a sporting revolution", Sportspages was a book store that had became a treasured institution amongst sports fans world wide.
Liam wanted to recreate online what had been lost when the offline book store ceased trading.
Key features of the original bookstore were:
- The unparralleled range of sporting material available from across the globe
- The expertise and knowledge of the staff
- The sense of community and belonging that anyone entering the shop immediately sensed
These three elements were recognised as being fundamental to the ongoing success of the online venture and were enshrined in an initial specification document.
Neuchi next enlisted the help of the award winning Bristol based Gr0w Collective.
Gr0W Collective to further develop the information architecture of the proposed site and present Liam with initial draft designs.
The project was embraced by Gr0w Collective leads, Jon Tan and Paul Withrow, who both immediately grasped the need to finely balance the development of an online sports community with the commercial requirements involved in effectively promoting and selling sports related books, DVDs and posters online.
Through the combined efforts of Neuchi, the Gr0w Collective and of course Liam Doyle, the site was launched in time to exploit the demand for sports related products in the lead-up to Christmas 2006.
Immediate Commercial & Critical Success
The site proved to be both an immediate commercial and design success with sales through the Christmas period exceeded all expectations and listings posted on design review sites such as Stylegala and CSSMania.
Word Of Sport continues to develop as the UK's leading online sports book store with an ever expanding community of members, reviweers and contributors all helping to create something that is a ftting testiment to the original Sportspages vision.
How To Learn More
For further information on the development of the Word Of Sport web site or to discuss your needs please do not hesitate to contact Neuchi today on 0207 581 6010 or simply complete our enquiry form.
