In 2015 an Australian mattress company called KoalaMattress.com.au launched.
Two years later, in early 2017, Koala upgraded their online website address (domain name) to Koala.com.au(,) paying $50,000 for the domain at the time. The company also purchased their matching “international” domain name, Koala.com(,) for an undisclosed amount (it would be safe to say it would have been at least six-figures).
Three years after upgrading their domain name and online branding, the Australian Financial Review are now claiming Koala’s Australian Mattress Brand is now valued at $500 million.
Coincidence?
Pure coincidence. Corporates should not be buying generic domain names. They are best saved for SMEs like Koala, which *was* a SME, who want to *disrupt* corporates. Can the self-satisfied dinosaur boomers on boards please keep their blinkers on so the rest of us can continue to fill our boots. Thank you.
Actually just to clarify (because accuracy is important right?) AFR is not making that claim. AFR is merely stating that Koala is making that claim about themselves.
And Koala is making that claim about their “whole operation”… while this article would suggest there is some correlation between the domain and the value of the whole operation.
To infer the domain had something to do with that $500 million valuation (without any further substantiation), is as much an overreach as it would be to suggest a type of petrol used was responsible for giving Ferarri it’s value.
Robert, this is not a reflection on your usual work because I know your work is normally excellent, but this is mere junk clickbait. It’s misleading and deceptive. You know better than this.
Hey Rudy I think Koalae.com.au which is plural for Koala is available to hand-reg.
Fake news. The company use the domain Koala.com
Not once have I seen them advertise the or use Koala.com.au. It is nothing more than a redirect to Koala.com.
Don’t see how this is fake news at all. The Australian company, as reported in AFR, with an e-commerce heavy model has in a short space of time built a $500m brand internationally in large part by harnessing the power of the generic domain Koala.com and prudently paid $50k for the .com.au.
Sounds like a good e-commerce story to me and a great example of how a start up can carve a niche with the assistance of a great domain name. In this case Koala wanted to go international early so the .com was best, but had the smarts to bed down the .com.au.
There is another start up who now will never own Koala.com or Koala.com.au:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/koala-launches-groundbreaking-vacation-rental-marketplace-to-reshape-the-global-timeshare-industry-301104741.html
“Koala.com.au brand now valued at $500 million ”
The story is nonsense because the domain they use is Koala.com, not the .au.
Secondly the whole company is being valued at $500million, not just the brand.
Suggest you take it up with AFR if not happy Snoopy
Still wonder why you’re here commenting when you don’t like .com.au (and you’re in the 1% minority on this when it comes to commerce in Australia as most businesses – like Koala – know that having the .com.au is critical).
If you like arguing there are lots of moronic arguments that can be had more worthy of our times than .com vs .com.au.
eg. Ford vs Holden, AFL vs NRL, Sydney vs Melbourne, Taylor Swift vs Avril Lavigne
Get stuck in, son!
What is there to take up with the AFR? The article they have written is 100% correct.
So many great domain names on the drops these days. NOT. #scarcity kicking in