Alan Dunn is the managing director of NameCorp, a digital agency that focuses on premium domain names. Recently, Alan published an article on Medium.com, entitled "One Domain Name Can Change Everything". Within the article, Alan describes how a great domain name can transform a brand. That has inspired this response, outlining five domain names that have helped to dramatically improve various brands around the World.
1. Nuts.com - $700,000
Jeff Braverman's family set up a nut shop in Newark, NJ in 1929. Since then, the company largely remained the same until Jeff started selling products online. By using NutsOnline.com, he started to sell 3,000 products and created a revenue stream of around $1.5mm.
However, NutsOnline.com was his 7th choice domain name. In an interview with NamePros, Jeff revealed that in 1999, his first six choices were already registered. After six years of trying, the CEO of NutsOnline.com acquired Nuts.com for $700,000.
Jeff told us that "rebranding to Nuts.com was one of my best decisions", and has helped the company to grow from $1.5mm per year in revenue to $35mm. Nuts.com now sells many health related products, with nuts representing less than 50% of their sales.
2. Candy.com - $3mm
In 2009, Rick Schwartz announced that he had sold one of his domain names, Candy.com, for $3mm. The buyer was a Massachusetts-based company that has created a global presence using the most memorable term available for that industry.
Harnessing the domain's SEO & marketing potential, the company has built an online store that currently has a US Alexa ranking of just under 90,000. Even before the company launched the Candy.com website, the domain received over 1,000 visitors per day.
Greg Balestrieri, co-owner of Candy.com, said in 2009 that “In five to 10 years from now, we’re going to look back and say that $3 million was a bargain.“ Almost seven years on, the domain is still being used to continue promoting the Candy.com brand.
3. 37.com - $2.1mm
Two-number .COM domain sales are extremely rare, and in today's market will always demand a seven figure price tag. In March 2014, 37Wan announced the acquisition of the domain 37.com in a $2.1mm deal. This domain was a vital part of a large, global rebranding that saw the company renamed as 37Games.
In an interview with NamePros recently, the new owners of 37.com told us that they acquired the domain to ensure that a global market would be able to recognise and memorise this simple domain, which is quite an upgrade from their previous name, 37Wan.com.
According to the company, "the change has been crucial and helpful in making 37Games an international brand."
4. Mi.com - $3.6mm
Just a month after the sale of 37.com was announced, another major sale to a Chinese company was reported. Xiaomi, the Chinese tech-giants, acquired Mi.com for a fee of $3.6mm. According to the Telegraph, Xiaomi bought the two-letter .COM domain to stave off pronunciation issues in a Western market.
As Xiaomi starts to expand their product lines to cater for Western buyers, the company's executives feared that Xiaomi may be difficult to pronounce or spell.
Currently, Mi.com is home to Xiaomi's international website, which shows products branded in the "Mi" moniker. Mi Box, Mi 5 and Mi Headphones are all currently promoted on the homepage.
5. Teamwork.com - $675,000
This domain was an incredible upgrade. In 2014, Teamwork PM upgraded from TeamworkPM.net to Teamwork.com. After a couple of years of trying to acquire the name, the team behind Teamwork PM agreed to buy Teamwork.com for $675,000, and set about rebranding around the domain.
According to an interview with DomainNameWire.com the CEO of Teamwork.com, Peter Coppinger, said that "Teamwork.com gives credibility to our brand. This domain is part of strengthening our marketing efforts".
Peter is certainly a great example of a CEO that "gets" premium domains, and the power that they have. After rebranding from TeamworkPM.net to Teamwork.com, the company has recorded impressive statistics. Over 370,000 companies use Teamwork.com, with 1.5mm active users.
1. Nuts.com - $700,000
Jeff Braverman's family set up a nut shop in Newark, NJ in 1929. Since then, the company largely remained the same until Jeff started selling products online. By using NutsOnline.com, he started to sell 3,000 products and created a revenue stream of around $1.5mm.
However, NutsOnline.com was his 7th choice domain name. In an interview with NamePros, Jeff revealed that in 1999, his first six choices were already registered. After six years of trying, the CEO of NutsOnline.com acquired Nuts.com for $700,000.
Jeff told us that "rebranding to Nuts.com was one of my best decisions", and has helped the company to grow from $1.5mm per year in revenue to $35mm. Nuts.com now sells many health related products, with nuts representing less than 50% of their sales.
2. Candy.com - $3mm
In 2009, Rick Schwartz announced that he had sold one of his domain names, Candy.com, for $3mm. The buyer was a Massachusetts-based company that has created a global presence using the most memorable term available for that industry.
Harnessing the domain's SEO & marketing potential, the company has built an online store that currently has a US Alexa ranking of just under 90,000. Even before the company launched the Candy.com website, the domain received over 1,000 visitors per day.
Greg Balestrieri, co-owner of Candy.com, said in 2009 that “In five to 10 years from now, we’re going to look back and say that $3 million was a bargain.“ Almost seven years on, the domain is still being used to continue promoting the Candy.com brand.
3. 37.com - $2.1mm
Two-number .COM domain sales are extremely rare, and in today's market will always demand a seven figure price tag. In March 2014, 37Wan announced the acquisition of the domain 37.com in a $2.1mm deal. This domain was a vital part of a large, global rebranding that saw the company renamed as 37Games.
In an interview with NamePros recently, the new owners of 37.com told us that they acquired the domain to ensure that a global market would be able to recognise and memorise this simple domain, which is quite an upgrade from their previous name, 37Wan.com.
According to the company, "the change has been crucial and helpful in making 37Games an international brand."
4. Mi.com - $3.6mm
Just a month after the sale of 37.com was announced, another major sale to a Chinese company was reported. Xiaomi, the Chinese tech-giants, acquired Mi.com for a fee of $3.6mm. According to the Telegraph, Xiaomi bought the two-letter .COM domain to stave off pronunciation issues in a Western market.
As Xiaomi starts to expand their product lines to cater for Western buyers, the company's executives feared that Xiaomi may be difficult to pronounce or spell.
Currently, Mi.com is home to Xiaomi's international website, which shows products branded in the "Mi" moniker. Mi Box, Mi 5 and Mi Headphones are all currently promoted on the homepage.
5. Teamwork.com - $675,000
This domain was an incredible upgrade. In 2014, Teamwork PM upgraded from TeamworkPM.net to Teamwork.com. After a couple of years of trying to acquire the name, the team behind Teamwork PM agreed to buy Teamwork.com for $675,000, and set about rebranding around the domain.
According to an interview with DomainNameWire.com the CEO of Teamwork.com, Peter Coppinger, said that "Teamwork.com gives credibility to our brand. This domain is part of strengthening our marketing efforts".
Peter is certainly a great example of a CEO that "gets" premium domains, and the power that they have. After rebranding from TeamworkPM.net to Teamwork.com, the company has recorded impressive statistics. Over 370,000 companies use Teamwork.com, with 1.5mm active users.