Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív T.D. today announced that US Internet Retailer CSN Stores will establish its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) headquarters in Galway, creating 200 positions over the next 36 months in Multilingual Customer Service, IT, Localisation, Finance, HR and Sales & Marketing functions. The company will also locate several buyers across Europe to source products directly from manufacturers. The centre, which is supported by the Government through IDA Ireland, will primarily provide CSN’s European customer base with voice and email-enabled support services.
CSN Stores LLC, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, is a fast-growing, privately-owned online retail company, ranked among the Top 3 home goods online retailers in the US. The company has more than 200 online niche shops offering a selection of products ranging from barstools and bedroom sets to grills, greenhouses and gaming equipment in multiple price bands for the budget-minded to the luxury seeker.
Speaking at today’s announcement Minister Ó Cuív said: “I am delighted to announce this investment by a leading online retail company such as CSN Stores for Galway. The company will be a significant employer in the West of Ireland hiring third level graduates in IT, software engineering, localisation, finance and multilingual customer support and will contribute to the further development and attractiveness of the Region as a location for additional investment.”
“Online retailers seeking to expand their international operations have been targeted by IDA Ireland as a strategically important emerging sector and as a result of today’s announcement, CSN Stores will be a significant reference site for IDA Ireland as it enhances Ireland’s profile as a leading location for Internet service companies in Europe,” continued the Minister.
CSN Stores’ CFO Nicholas Malone said: “Our decision to locate our EMEA HQ in Galway was based on the impressive local workforce comprised of highly intelligent, well-educated multilingual speakers, who represent several European nationalities. We also believe that there’s a strong ‘fit’ between our company’s hard-working, dynamic and celebratory culture and the people of Galway. Galway is definitely the right location to accelerate CSN’s future commercial success and growth within the EMEA region.”
CSN plans to open its Galway offices in January, 2009 in the Mervue Business Park. The initial office space will be approximately 3,100 sq. ft., and can be expanded as needed in the months and years to come. For more updates on the Galway headquarters, go to csnstores.ie or csnstores.co.uk, CSN’s first non-transactional European sites.
CSN’s first transactional European site is CookwareEssentials.co.uk, which has just launched and will be followed with sites catering to UK consumers’ needs in many additional categories, including lighting and other home and garden goods. Looking ahead over the next 18 months, CSN also plans to launch sites catering to German and Irish consumers, as well as other Europeans.
