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While
2009 was a horrible year for the general economy, the domain
aftermarket held up better than most other sectors. $102
million in total domain sales were reported to us in
2009, a 12.5% decline from the $116.7 million
reported in 2008. The fall off would have been just 6.5%
but in the second half of 2009 word belatedly leaked out
about two blockbuster sales that had been made in 2008 (Clothes.com
at $4.9 million and Shopping.de at just
over $2.8 million). When those were added to the 2008
total it more than doubled the amount by which 2009 trailed
the previous year. Of course, it is quite possible that some
huge presently unreported sales made in 2009 will come to
light in the months ahead, again narrowing the year over
year gap.
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A closer
look at the numbers showed that almost all of the
decline in 2009 came from the very high end
of the market. When we looked at just the top 5% of
sales prices we found that 2009 was down $13.5
million versus 2008, accounting for almost all
of the $14.5 million shortfall in the market
as a whole. The fact that the rest of the market
remained on an even keel was reinforced by median
sale prices (the median is the price at which
half of all reported sales were higher and half were
lower). In 2008 the median sales price reported to
us (note |
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we only track sales of four figures or more) was $2,688.
In 2009 the median price was off just 3.3% to
$2,597 - a very respectable performance given
the massive declines in other areas of the economy. |
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I
delivered this news while sitting on a panel
discussion about ccTLDs at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las
Vegas. Given the topic of the seminar, show
organizers asked me to break out some |
| country
code sales information as well. The ccTLDs have been
enjoying a boom over the past couple of years and
our sales data verified that. In 2008 1,722
of the 15,818 sales reported to us were
ccTLDs - so 11% of all reported sales were
ccTLDs. In 2009, that number soared to 24% of
all reported sales with ccTLDs accounting for
3,777 of the 15,600 sales reported to us.
The dollar volume
for country code sales also rocketed in |
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| 2009,
jumping 28% from 13.9 million in 2008
to $17.8 million in 2009. Compare that 28%
rise to the 12.5% drop in the market as a whole and
you can see that the ccTLDs have become a beacon of
strength as the Internet becomes more and more
localized. |
Inside
Directi's India Based Domain Empire (Guest Article By PPX
International's Executive Chairman Gregg McNair)
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Gregg
McNair
Executive Chairman
PPX International Ltd. |
Most
people in the domain industry are familiar with PPX
International's Executive Chairman Gregg
McNair (who was profiled in our October
2009 Cover Story). Gregg's business
takes him all over the world - the globe trotting
Aussie spends hundreds of nights in hotel rooms
every year.
A
few weeks ago McNair headed to Mumbai, India to
pay a visit to the headquarters of industry giant Directi
and the company's co-founders Divyank
Turakhia and Bhavin Turakhia (Divyank was
the subject of our September
2008 Cover Story). While I have had the
pleasure of getting to know Divyank, Bhavin and
their many talented Directi and Skenzo
team members over the years, I have never had an
opportunity to visit their home base, so when Gregg
asked if I would be interested in having him write a
guest article about what he saw on his visit
to Mumbai, I of course immediately accepted. Gregg's
report follows below:
By Gregg McNair
For most of us in
the domain industry Skenzo
is another PPC provider which performs quite
well |
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certain names. The mystique surrounding its Indian
origin and that of the Directi Group has led
people like me to underestimate the size and
potential of the operations being assembled in
Mumbai. This unsolicited report emanates from my
sheer amazement and will definitely surprise
many others |
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Over
the past 3 or 4 years Directi Group Co-Founder, Divyank
Turakhia and I have built a strong personal
relationship at a number of domain shows. In recent
years as we increased the level of our business and
the depth of the friendship Div has from time to
time invited me to visit his operations in Mumbai.
For
most of this 2009 the priority to actually get to
Mumbai could not overcome the urgency of other
matters despite a dozen nearby Asian visits, so last
month I decided if I did not make it in December it
may well take another year.
For
me, despite my crazy travel program over recent
years, this would only be my second time in Mumbai
in 20 years so I was somewhat prepared for a
congested and polluted urban experience… in that
respect I certainly was not disappointed.
Mumbai
immediately presents the visitor with a sea of
confusion in almost every respect…Yet somehow
seems to achieve |
Directi
Co-Founders Divyank Turakhia
and Bhavin Turakhia (right) |
| far
more than would seem could be possible. Amidst all
this mayhem Mumbai is the strong financial heart
of a huge developing nation and the home of Bollywood. |
My host
Divyank being an avid aviator flew me over Mumbai for
a few hours to gain an overview and appreciation of the
sheer size and energy of this vast city.
(Left
to right) Macy Hall (Skenzo), Divyank Turakhia
and Gregg McNair
getting ready to take off for Gregg's aerial tour of Mumbai,
India
Photo
of Mumbai from the air
Soon
after arrival I was conveyed to the Directi headquarters:
dubbed ‘Directiplex’. This new state-of-the-art
7-floor facility has been created to cater to the
consistent growth in Directi’s businesses and employee
talent base. For the past 4 years the group has been cited
among Asia’s fastest growing businesses by Deloitte and
Touche.
The
new Directi building in Mumbai
Spread
across 120,000 square feet, the Directiplex has a
capacity of 1500 seats and amenities that rival any
contemporary Western IT business. From a staff restaurant
employing highly credentialed chefs to a staff gaming
room to a bowling alley in the soon to be
completed basement, the staff in this company enjoys working
conditions to be envied by most employees anywhere on
this planet!
The
gaming room at Directi headquarters
I am not
going to go into detail concerning the business activities
and products offered by the group, however companies like Skenzo,
Logic Boxes and a host of other IT businesses are
operating and growing within the Directiplex. The Directi
website more than adequately details what the
group is all about.
Skenzo as
one of the main businesses has some remarkable people many
of whom are buried among the 500 Directi staff efficiently
working away at making Skenzo a global leader. The attention
to detail and outstanding customer service is very obvious
when you see it firsthand.
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Divyank
Turakhia takes "flying high"
literally.
That's him on top of the airplane! |
A
tour of the facility is truly impressive with the
drive and boundless enthusiasm of its founders
obvious at every turn. Divyank and Bhavin Turakhia
who are both less than 30 years of age, have
inculcated a ‘can do’ spirit across all the
various business units in a manner rare in my
experience and, I am reliably informed, certainly unique
in India.
Many
will have read the Divyank DNJournal
Cover Story written by Ron Jackson and
gained some insight of the sense of destiny that
exudes from the Turakhia brothers.
One
of the most impressive meetings I sat in on whilst
there was that of 50 senior managers who are all
integrally involved in the interview and
recruitment process of pending graduates from
all 6 of India’s best IT universities.
The
lengths they go to, to ensure that Directi recruit
the BEST graduates in the country had to be
seen to be believed! Collectively they will
interview and |
| research
around 1,000 top scoring graduates in order
to find the best 30-40. It is then that the
battle ensues with the likes of Google, Yahoo
and the other major foreign IT giants operating
in India. |
I
guess it was only then that I fully realized the rationale
behind the lavish and generous staff amenities and working
conditions at the Directiplex. In order to woo and win the
best people the company has to provide at least comparable
world class staff packages and facilities. With the natural
pull of international tech powerhouses like Google, a local
Indian company has to offer as much and more to secure the
best available graduates ….and that is exactly what
Directi is achieving.
The
founders’ stated objective of becoming India’s #1
technical innovation business is rapidly being
delivered. Another objective of becoming leading global
players in the technical space they choose to develop is
also beginning to play out on a grand scale.
Directi
may have been a reasonably well kept secret up until now,
but I urge readers to ‘watch this space’ because the
Turakhia brothers are sure to become not only preeminent
technical entrepreneurs in India but also on the world
stage.
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