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公司：Vero Linens

地點：佛羅里達州威尼斯市

????最近一輪經濟衰退期間，向精品酒店批發高端床上用品的生意也出現萎縮。史蒂夫?卡拉達諾不得已嘗試了新方法。他在在9個月前建立了一家網站，直接向消費者出售床單。卡拉達諾稱：“去掉零售商的中間渠道之后，平常標價1,100美元的床單套件我只賣500美元。”為了在新市場樹立良好的口碑，他聯系了幾家室內設計博客的編輯，比如Habitually Chic, Cote de Texas和Coco & Kelley。除了向他們提供機會，評價這些在意大利手工制作的產品，他們的粉絲還可以參加小型競賽，優勝者的獎品就是一套床上用品。“他們就是小號的奧普拉（美國著名主持人——譯注），”卡拉達諾說。“粉絲對他們言聽計從。他們給公司帶來了信譽。”獎品還在博客上引發了設計愛好者對床單的大討論，當然也增加了網站的銷售。卡拉達諾自己的博客現在也出現在公司網站上，還為顧客提供咨詢，比如告訴那些新近離婚的男人怎樣選購床單，這也給網站帶來了額外的訪問量。他說：“一年前，沒人訪問我的網站。”而現在，如果顧客搜索“意大利床上用品”之類的關鍵詞，他的網站會出現在谷歌搜索結果的第一頁。

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Company: Vero Linens

Location: Venice, Fla.

??? When his wholesale business selling luxury linens to boutique hotels slowed during the recession, Steve Caradano tried a new approach, launching a website nine months ago to sell sheets directly to consumers. "I can take an $1,100 sheet set, bypass the retailers, and sell it for $500," says Caradano. To build the reputation of his brand in a new market, he got in touch with editors of interior design blogs such as Habitually Chic, Cote de Texas, and Coco & Kelley to offer them a chance to review the products, which are handcrafted in Italy, and to award a set of linens to their followers in small contests. "They're mini-Oprahs," says Caradano. "They have people who are intrigued by what they say. They bring credibility." The giveaways led to discussions of the sheets among the design aficionados on the blogs -- and purchases from his site. Caradano has now added his own blog to Vero Linens' site -- offering advice like tips for recently divorced men on how to buy sheets, which drives additional traffic to his site. "A year ago, I had zero traffic," he says. Today, he notes, his site appears on the first page of Google search results when consumers type in terms like "Italian bedding."