The Galway based retailer, which sells outdoor clothing and equipment, launched its website in July to capitalise on the growing demand for online shopping. Since then, turnover has increased 20%.

Sales have improved so much that owner, Pat MacAlinney has had to take on another member of staff just to meet the demand in online orders.

Earlier this year, Pat instructed Citrus-Lime to develop an ecommerce site in order to give River Deep Mountain High an international presence.

Speaking of the partnership, Pat said: “Since working with Citrus-Lime I’ve been able to streamline my stock management system and integrate it with the website which makes the process of dealing with online orders a lot more efficient and provides better customer service all round.

“While the physical shop remains profitable, the website has been instrumental in increasing turnover. We’re not only servicing customers all over Ireland, we’re taking orders from as far afield as Germany and the United States too. The Click & Collect facility is especially popular and this is bringing a lot more people in to store.”

River Deep Mountain High’s website was made possible through a grant provided by Pat’s Local Enterprise Office in Galway. Having recognised the opportunity online shopping offers, he applied for a grant under the Trading Online Voucher Scheme, and was awarded €2,450 to fund the build of the website.

Neil McQuillan, CEO and founder of Citrus-Lime, commented: “Pat’s ambitions to harness the power of the internet were evident from the outset and together we’ve built a website that has more than paid for itself within the first couple of months of going live. I’ve not seen a small dealer experience so much Click & Collect activity in such a short space of time; it really is a great success story. The fact that it’s also led to job creation is the icing on the cake and I couldn’t be any more pleased with the result.” 

Breda Fox, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Galway says: “Pat and the team at River Deep Mountain High are another great Galway success story. Businesses like theirs are embracing the digital now more than ever with help from the Trading Online Voucher scheme. E-commerce is opening up huge opportunities for local businesses in terms of expansion and export through online trade. It’s fantastic to see River Deep Mountain High experiencing such a fantastic upturn in sales and the team at Local Enterprise Office Galway wishes them every success.”