Italtile and Hetzner join forces to provide top e-commerce offering

📅 Май 4, 2015 - Retail giants Italtile and CTM (part of the Italtile Group) recently joined the growing list of top-tier e-commerce platforms to partner with Hetzner. The country's largest specialist web hosting company already supports many of South Africa's top performing online platforms, including Yuppiechef, the 2014 uAfrica eCommerce award winner.

Italtile Group's decision to have Hetzner house mission-critical e-commerce sites for both its high-end and medium-level retail subsidiaries came about largely as a result of the company's highly regarded Custom Hosting Solution (CHS).

“Italtile needed an airtight hosting solution for its two websites, and was unwilling to compromise on security, performance or uptime,” explains Athena Turner, marketing and communications manager for Hetzner South Africa. “They opted to make use of our CHS offering, which affords them access to a dedicated account manager and technical team, who are able to proactively monitor and respond to any server performance or capacity issues, and ensure 99.9% service availability – a critical factor in the success of any ecommerce site.”

For Italtile Group's E-commerce Manager, Tim Meara, the online platform's ability to deliver top-notch customer service was key, “Allowing our customers to view our product ranges, pay online and facilitate delivery directly from the comfort of their homes is an essential element of our overall service offering,” explains Meara. “It was therefore critical to choose a hosting partner that could handle both the volumes and technical requirements necessary to ensure exceptional service from an online perspective.”

Hetzner's fully managed hosting solution not only affords their growing customer list the highest levels of security and speed, it also boasts a level of configurational flexibility that allows it to be customised and updated based on changing needs.

“There's nothing static about the online environment, so for customers like Italtile, it's important to know that changes can be quickly and easily implemented as its web platform evolves,” explains Turner. “Flexibility and scalability were non-negotiables for them when it came to launching their ecommerce sites, and our Custom Hosting Solution team has been able to adapt seamlessly since the platforms went live.”

About Italtile Ltd.

Italtile Limited is South Africa's leading retailer of imported and local ceramic and porcelain tiles, sanitaryware, bathroom accessories and other related products. The Group operates as a franchisor, featuring a streamlined parent operation focused on growing market share and fostering entrepreneurial opportunities through its franchise programme.

Headquartered in Bryanston, Johannesburg, the Group is represented via a national network of high profile branded retail outlets comprising Italtile Retail, CTM and TopT, each targeting a specific market segment, and supported by specialist service departments. The Group's brands cater to homeowners across the income spectrum, holding appeal for market segments ranging from the premium upper end to entry level consumers.

The Group's network comprises 119 stores, situated in South Africa, the SADEC region and Kenya. There are 83 CTM stores, 8 Italtile stores and 28 TopT stores.

About Hetzner's Custom Hosting Solution

Hetzner's unique Custom Hosting Solution offers customers both performance and peace of mind, providing a fully managed and highly flexible hosting environment that can be easily adapted to meet specific requirements. All websites are monitored and maintained by a dedicated account manager and technical team, who proactively check for any server issues and are available 24/7. For more about Hetzner, please visit www.hetzner.co.za