'Swapshop' website Hitflip launches in Britain
Monday, 26 March 2007
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Hitflip will launch its online swapping web site in the UK today after acquiring rival Swopex and appointing the man behind marketing the Crazy Frog to run the business. Swapping items online has been gaining popularity, with community sites offering users the equivalent of a virtual carboot sale to exchange household items locally.
In the wake of the rampant success of online auction site eBay, a number of companies have established online networks where users can swap items such as DVDs, books and video games.
Hitflip has been operating in Germany for a year and has 110,000 users and 350,000 swappable items. The company is funded by a group of individual investors including the Samwer brothers, who backed Jamba, the content developers behind Crazy Frog.
Hitflip has acquired the UK's largest online exchange portal Swopex for an undisclosed sum. Gerald Schönbucher, joint managing director of Hitflip, said: "In the UK, the popular Eighties morning TV show for children, Noel Edmonds' Swap Shop, became essential viewing for millions ... so we know you're a nation of would-be swappers."
Adam Finlayson has been drafted in to run the UK business after marketing the Crazy Frog in the UK.
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