Golley Slater wins launch campaign for ‘Ebay rival’

Cash Converters, the second-hand goods retailer and financial services group, has appointed Golley Slater to launch an online auction site in direct competition with Ebay.

It hopes the new service will broaden the brand’s appeal beyond the lower end of the socio-economic scale, its core UK market.

The Cardiff-based integrated agency is developing a campaign to encourage people to visit the Cash Converters auction site, which will offer goods such as consumer electronics, collectibles, computers, CDs and DVDs and jewellery, all of which have been bought by its stores from consumers looking to raise cash. Target Media will be handling media buying.

Cash Converters launched in Australia in 1984 as an alternative to pawn shops. It now has 400 outlets in 21 countries worldwide and is mostly owned by franchisees. It entered the UK in 1991, where it has 116 stores. In 2004, it launched a smaller company-run retail format to sit alongside its franchised outlets.

The company has been testing the online waters, using Ebay to sell products. The company says that in addition to the convenience of online shopping, consumers will have the reassurance of a bricks-and-mortar retail chain, and goods will be offered with warranties where relevant.