A few additional details are emerging about the startup former Apple exec and JCPenney CEO is running and it appears to be focused on customer service and helping shoppers make better purchase decisions.
“As Amazon and Google jostle to sell everyday items on the Web and deliver them as quickly as possible, Mr. Johnson says they overlook the human aspect of helping shoppers find the right products, especially for infrequently purchased items that are more complex and expensive,” reported the Wall Street Journal, which interviewed Johnson about his intended launch next year. “’That’s when you typically want something more than fast delivery. You might want a little help,’ Mr. Johnson said in an interview. ‘There’s a place for high touch in a high-tech world.'”
The company is called Enjoy and the Journal said that it has raised “$30 million, including a recent $25 million funding round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Oak Investment Partners. Andreessen Horowitz is also an investor. Mr. Johnson declined to disclose Enjoy’s valuation.”
The story said that Johnson realized that the largest E-Commerce sites focus so much on the speed and cost of delivery that helping the shopper has gotten lost. “There’s more to life than logistics. There’s more to life than a review,” Johnson said. “Just because we’re moving online, it doesn’t mean that need for a connection is going away. No one has really thought that through yet.”
Johnson also poo-poohed a report last month from The Information that his company was a delivery firm. “We don’t need another delivery service,” he said, without elaborating.
