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While many Internet businesses spend years looking for the break-even point, Ed Mufson of Cambridge has found a gold mine in an electronic commerce business that has him practically cash neutral only 100 days after launching his business site.
A one-stop Internet shop for men, women and children, Mufson's Deal-A-Day World Wide Web site offers designer-label clothing at a deep discount.
The savvy web site, operated out of an office and warehouse facility in Norwood, hardly looks like it came from the mind of a man who learned how to turn on a computer less than a year ago.
For five months, Mufson, a 30-year veteran of the retail business, read hundreds of library articles on e-commerce, spoke to friends and associates in the apparel business, conferred with colleagues in finance and banking, and read the latest news about Internet marketing and sales. Finally, he chose an online discount designer clothing business, certain that he could succeed after owning his own retail chain and, most recently, heading the women's department at Building 19.
"This really is an extension of what catalogs have been doing for many years, only we offer discounts," said the 57-year-old Mufson.
The site, which took four months to build, is designed to be user-friendly and visually appealing, with professional models pictured wearing merchandise from Guess, Liz Claiborne, Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor, Laundry by Shelli Segal and more.
Some items are discounted by more than 80 percent from retail and all items are first-quality. For example, a Dana Buchman skirt that retails for $228 is offered by Deal-A-Day for $29.99.
Mufson keeps prices low by buying directly from clothing companies, stocking previous-season favorites, and buying in "broken sizes," meaning he may not get the same number of dresses in size 8 as he will in size 12. Thus inventory at Deal-A-Day's Norwood warehouse changes daily and the skirt pictured in tan is probably only available in tan.
Mufson claims to get 1.2 million hits per month on the site at . with 11,000 new visitors each month. About 20 percent of his sales are international, with the biggest portions going to Australia, Canada and England.
A typical customer, according to Mufson, is 17 to 35 years old, affluent, intelligent and sophisticated. And almost all are non-urban dwellers.
"These are people who want to wear nice, name-brand clothing but don't have access to this kind of merchandise where they live," Mufson said.
Unique to catalog-type businesses, Deal-A-Day charges nominal shipping and handling fees. Customers can pay by credit card over a secure server or by check. Sizing charts help customers choose the right fit, but merchandise can be returned free-of-charge for exchange or full refund.
With $140,000 of his own money invested, and more than 1,700 sales and 100-plus days later, Mufson is oh-so-close to breaking even. He expects Deal-A-Day to do $500,000 in sales its first year and take off from there.
"I feel that we can be very profitable," Mufson said. "There's a potential to reach hundreds of millions of dollars in sales within five years.
And Mufson may very well be right. By some analysts' estimates, $27 billion will change hands via e-commerce in the year 2000, a gigantic leap from the $1 billion garnered in Internet business in 1997.
Mufson is unabashed about the lofty goals he has for Deal-A-Day. He's now looking to raise capital, $2.5 million in several stages, to add products and upgrade the site, translate it into several Asian languages, and increase marketing.
If the money comes through, look for Deal-A-Day to expand beyond designer clothing to small leather accessories, shoes and even beauty products. However, the expanded site will still be high-end, Mufson said.
"It was important for me to distinguish our site to instantly establish a comfort level in the customer's mind," Mufson said.
Mufson and his small staff are simply trying to keep up with demand and expansion plans. As the business grows, Mufson hopes to hire several marketing and product development consultants to help him further the cause of designer clothing at discount prices.
Right now, though, grab an Ann Taylor vest for $10 before they're gone for good.

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