Telecom is closing its online shopping venture Ferrit with the loss of 24 full-time jobs. Ferrit never turned a profit and Telecom is not commenting on whether industry estimates of a $30 million investment in the venture are correct or not.
I have always had my doubts about this particular venture. It reminded me very much of some of British Telecom's (BT) first forays into Internet ventures at the back-end of the 1990's. Most were similarly fated.
The reality is that there are much more focused, experienced and established e-commerce players around. Think Amazon, TradeMe and EBay. They all have proven business models and offer users far more than a simple aggregated online shopping mall.
Telecom's decision will enable them to focus management resources on the key infrastructure issues that they and New Zealand face. The decision to terminate the Ferrit is a good one.
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