Isaac Mizrahi, pumpkin spice body scrub or a braided iPhone cord; you might think I’m shopping on Rue La La or Hautelook right now — wrong, it’s Tanga. This Chandler-based e-commerce company is going head on against the big boys with their flash deals and name-brand products.
Tanga, known for its flash sales on brands such as Logitech, Bose and Beats by Dr. Dre, is silently exploding with over its 20,000 daily orders, 1 million registered customers and has seen a 247 percent growth in the last few years.
“Everyone loves a good deal,” Tanga CEO and founder Jeremy Young said. “We want to be the treasure hunt of the deal space and offer you an incredible deal every day.”
Since its inception, Tanga customers have saved a grand total of $300 million through the site’s deals.
The e-retailer also houses two additional online storefronts, BelleChic and LOLShirts.
BelleChic operates on Tanga’s same quick-sales model, where products are there one day and gone the next. The site specializes in handmade products that would have any Etsy fan twitching for more, such as whimsical prints and monogrammed lockets.
Meanwhile, LOLShirts is focused in providing slapstick, text-embossed clothes designed to get a laugh of customers. With designs that range in inspiration, from diehard “Game of Thrones” fans to the inner dog-lover in all of us, the shirts are bound to get at least a comment or smile from someone.
Recently, the Valley e-retailer was recognized for its 247 percent growth from 2010 to 2013 by Inc. magazine. The recognized publication ranked the e-retailer No. 1703 on its 33rd Annual Inc. 5000 list.
“Being recognized on the Inc. 5000 list is huge honor for our small company,” Young said in a statement. “We’re so grateful for our loyal customers.”
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Built on the 24-hour deal model, Tanga operates off of flash sales on discounted name-brand products that have consumers pressed to purchase within the time limit.
The success of flash sales online is nothing new. Last holiday season alone, businesses specializing in these deals grew at least twice as fast as other e-commerce sites, according to Reuters.
The top flash sales merchants in the U.S., which include Gilt, Ebay’s Rue La La, Nordstrom’s HauteLook and Amazon’s MYHABIT, earned more than $2 billion in sales in 2012, Reuters reported.
Unlike Amazon, which houses all of its goods, Tanga uses a third-party logistics provider to manage its products distribution and warehousing. The warehouses are currently located in Nevada and Connecticut.
Along with this, Tanga operates off of a bootstrap business model, which equates to relying on savings and early cash flow to fund the company rather than taking out loans or investments.
“I like the control (bootstrapping) gives me in controlling my own destiny,” Young said. “I’d rather have slower growth and completely control and freedom to do the things we feel we need to do than be tied down to managing investors.”
The company started out selling board games, puzzles and family entertainment products, as well as some video games and electronics that were left over from Young’s failed business Uberplay in 2006.
Each day, Young would post an item at 50 percent or more off the retail price, which created an early, positive stream of cash flow to keep the venture afloat and soon Tanga grew to add products from all verticals.
“After the success of the initial sales, I started to try other verticals and found out that we could sell large quantity of inventory if we had the best brands at best of web pricing,” Young said.
As the e-retailer continues to develop and grow, the company is set to move into a larger Chandler-based office in November and expand its hiring of developers and customer service agents.
Graphics courtesy of Tanga
