John Palmer, the company’s founder and CEO, says on the site, “we have managed to secure enough additional funding – commitments for over £30 million - to see us through to profitability by the end of 2002.”
As part of the restructuring, offices in seven countries have been closed and the staff has been reduced from 350 to 150. The company says it now intends to settle all creditors’ demands, to refund customers and to fulfil outstanding orders promptly.
LetsBuyIt.com operates a “co-buying” business model. The company negotiates discounts with suppliers or manufacturers which are proportional to the number of buyers it can attract on its site. Items are posted for sale with a price which reduces over a buying period as the number of users who choose the same item increases.