Buy.com hires former Foster’s marketer to oversee UK launch

Buy.com, the US number two online shopping site which launches in the UK this week, has appointed former Foster’s marketer Gordon Henderson as its head of marketing.

Henderson, who was formerly marketing director of Foster’s in Western Australia before coming to the UK two years ago, joins Buy.com as vice-president of marketing to oversee the UK launch.

He was most recently new business development manager and online marketing director for Internet marketing agency E-Marketing. He had also worked for Australian brewer Lion Nathan as project director before coming to the UK.

The UK launch of Buy.com is backed by a &£6m advertising campaign through Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R and Carat.

The site has become the second largest online retailer in the US behind Amazon, with sales of &£597m. It sells computer products, electrical goods, sports goods, CDs, videos and music through its range of category-specific online “shops”.

The UK site will initially sell computer hardware and software, but plans to extend the range later in the year.

Buy.com is the second US site to be introduced to the UK by News Corporation’s eVentures, the Internet launch vehicle jointly formed with Softbank Corporation of Japan. The first was online lender E-loan.