What makes it harder, is building a business where nobody else has done it or turned a profit. Value America shares a lot of characteristics with Web companies, but it manages to distinguish itself, too. Winn leverages his own spending with cooperative advertising agreements with makers of the products he sells. One way Value America rounds up customers is by creating income for charities and using their mailing lists What sets Value America apart is how it rounds up customers while keeping costs down. Value America uses the hook with charities to scour their donor lists for potential customers.
Scale is a multiple of revenue.
We use charities' direct-mailing lists, and that makes it less expensive to reach an audience that is highly motivated to support the organization. Winn keeps costs down by having producers ship products direct to buyers, saving on inventories and maintaining a fulfillment staff. Raised in a residential suburb north of Los Angeles, he earned a BS in business administration from the University of Southern California. He started his professional career in wholesaling, working with the Price Club in its early stages and persuading manufacturers to supply the membership club with custom products to eliminate costs. He gives credit for the Value America business model to Sol Price, founder of the Price Club, now Costco Cos., and its warehouse concept.