EasyInternetcafé

EasyInternetcafé, originally launched as easyEverything in 1999, was a chain of public Internet cafés associated with Stelios Haji-Ioannou's EasyGroup. It sought to apply the Easy brand's low-price, high-volume approach to Internet access at a time when home broadband was not yet widespread and travelers, students, and urban consumers often relied on commercial access points. The business was especially notable for opening very large cafés in prominent city-center locations, including sites in London and other European capitals. Its operating model differed from that of many conventional Internet cafés. Rather than maintaining a simple fixed hourly rate, easyEverything used a yield-management system in which prices varied with occupancy. As more terminals were occupied, the amount of access time purchased for a given unit of currency fell. This penetration-pricing strategy was designed to attract customers, build awareness quickly, and maximize the use of a large number of terminals. Customers could also use prepaid credit at different cafés within the same country, giving the chain a degree of network-wide portability. The company expanded rapidly across Europe and into New York. In November 2000 it opened an 800-terminal venue near Times Square, an installation recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest Internet café at the time. The opening was conducted by Carly Fiorina, then chief executive of Hewlett-Packard. The chain ultimately comprised 75 outlets operated through 28 franchisees, according to the Wikipedia account. EasyEverything also experimented with services beyond basic web access. It partnered with Microsoft to offer games and personal-productivity software as metered services and worked with Deltathree on an Internet-telephony offering. In 2001 it created easyEverything media sales, a media-sales business established through a joint venture with WPP's advertising and marketing-services group. The expansion strategy proved difficult to sustain. The company appears to have overestimated demand for enormous, continuously open cafés outside the busiest tourist and capital-city locations. It subsequently rationalized its outlet portfolio, reduced staffing, replaced some staffed credit-dispensing functions with vending machines, sublet retail space, and reorganized its central and national operations. The business moved toward a franchise model centered on smaller sites managed locally; Greek retailer Germanos was identified as its first franchisee. The chain was rebranded EasyInternetcafé, and by 2009 operations had been devolved entirely to franchisees. EasyGroup retained the brand name, while the reference material does not establish the brand's current trading footprint or whether it remains active.

EasyInternetcafé began in 1999 under the name easyEverything as an Internet-access venture within the EasyGroup associated with Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Its launch coincided with a period in which commercial Internet access remained important for travelers, students, and consumers without reliable home connections. The company attempted to transfer the Easy brand's low-price positioning to a new category by building very large cafés in prominent urban locations. The central commercial innovation was dynamic pricing. EasyEverything embedded yield management into its operating system and changed the effective price of access according to terminal occupancy. When a café was lightly used, customers could obtain more minutes for their money; as occupancy increased, the amount of time purchased for the same currency declined. The approach combined penetration pricing with capacity management and was intended to generate rapid trial, high utilization, and strong location awareness. Customers could use prepaid credit at different cafés in the same country, which gave the network an advantage over isolated independent venues. The chain initially gained attention in London and then expanded quickly across Europe and to New York. Its format was unusually large for the sector, with some cafés containing hundreds of computers and operating around the clock. The most prominent example was an 800-terminal location near Times Square, opened in November 2000 by Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina. Guinness World Records recognized the venue as the world's largest Internet café at the time. The broader chain was described as having 75 outlets managed by 28 franchisees. EasyEverything supplemented access sales with related digital services. Microsoft supplied games and productivity software that could be offered on a metered basis, while Deltathree partnered with the company on Internet telephony. In February 2001 the business also entered advertising and media sales through easyEverything media sales, a joint venture with WPP's advertising and marketing-services group. The chain received several awards during 2000 and 2001, including recognition for its retail launch, network-product innovation, international property strategy, and investment in France. The rapid rollout exposed weaknesses in the large-format model. Demand that supported major tourist and capital-city sites did not necessarily exist in less prominent locations, yet the cafés carried substantial property, equipment, staffing, and operating costs. The company therefore rationalized its portfolio, made staff redundant, introduced vending machines for some credit-dispensing tasks, sublet portions of retail premises, and reworked head-office and country operations. It also moved away from wholly controlled operations toward franchising and smaller, locally managed sites. Germanos, a Greek retailer, was identified as the first franchisee under the revised model. During this period the brand was renamed EasyInternetcafé. By 2009, its operations had reportedly been devolved entirely to franchisees, while EasyGroup retained the easyInternetcafe brand name. The available reference material does not establish a later corporate owner, a continuing network of outlets, or a definitive closure date. The brand's present operating status should therefore be treated as uncertain rather than assumed to be active or defunct. The business also faced controversy over content filtering and legal exposure connected with customer use of its facilities. In 2001, gay websites called for a boycott after filtering software blocked their sites; company representatives defended the filtering in relation to images hosted on those sites but did not provide a clear public definition of obscene material. In 2003, the British operation was found liable for copyright infringement associated with customers using its CD-burning service to reproduce illegally downloaded music.

• 2009

  Operations devolved to franchisees

  [1]EasyInternetcaféen.wikipedia.org

  The operating business is reported to have moved entirely to franchisees, with EasyGroup retaining the brand name.

• 2003

  Copyright-liability finding in Great Britain

  [1]EasyInternetcaféen.wikipedia.org

  The chain is found liable for copyright infringement associated with customer CD copying.

• 2001

  Media-sales venture established

  [1]EasyInternetcaféen.wikipedia.org

  easyEverything media sales is launched in partnership with WPP's advertising and marketing-services group.

• 2001

  Filtering controversy

  [1]EasyInternetcaféen.wikipedia.org

  Gay websites call for a boycott after the chain's filtering software blocks their content.

• 2000

  International expansion and major industry recognition

  [1]EasyInternetcaféen.wikipedia.org

  The chain expands across Europe and receives several awards for its retail, network, and property concepts.

• 2000

  Times Square venue opens

  [1]EasyInternetcaféen.wikipedia.org

  An 800-terminal New York café opens near Times Square and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest Internet café at the time.

• 1999

  Business launches as easyEverything

  [1]EasyInternetcaféen.wikipedia.org

  The EasyGroup Internet-café venture begins using dynamic pricing and large urban locations.

A low-cost, high-volume public Internet-access brand using dynamic pricing, large urban venues, and later a franchise-led operating model.

• Internet café services · 1999

  Public Internet access

  The core offering was metered access to desktop computers and high-speed Internet connections in large city-center cafés. Prices were adjusted according to occupancy, making access cheaper during quiet periods and less time-intensive for the same payment when demand was high.

• Digital services

  Metered games and productivity software

  Through a partnership with Microsoft, the cafés offered computer games and personal-productivity software as metered services, extending the business beyond simple web browsing.

• Telecommunications service

  Internet telephony

  The chain partnered with Deltathree to provide an Internet-telephony service to café users.

• Advertising services · 2001

  easyEverything media sales

  A media-sales operation created in 2001 through a joint venture with WPP's advertising and marketing-services group, intended to commercialize advertising opportunities associated with the café network.

• 2001

  Website filtering boycott

  Gaydar.co.uk and Squirt.org called for a boycott after filtering software used by easyEverything blocked their sites. The company characterized the sites as offensive because of their imagery, while the dispute raised questions about the transparency and scope of the chain's content-filtering policy.

  Source

Read more

• 2001

  Create a media-sales joint ventureOther

  Background

  The growing café network provided physical locations and customer traffic that could potentially be monetized through advertising.

  Action taken

  The company established easyEverything media sales in a joint venture with WPP's advertising and marketing-services group.

  Aftermath

  The venture expanded the brand's activities into media sales, although the available material does not document its later performance or duration.

  Source

• 1999

  Adopt occupancy-based dynamic pricingStrategy

  Background

  The new chain needed to attract customers rapidly while operating large numbers of computer terminals in high-cost urban locations.

  Action taken

  EasyEverything used yield-management principles to vary the amount of access time customers received for their money according to café occupancy.

  Aftermath

  The pricing model differentiated the chain from many fixed-price Internet cafés and supported its low-cost, high-volume positioning.

  Source

• Shift toward franchising and smaller cafésStrategy

  Background

  Demand for very large, continuously open cafés proved weaker outside the busiest tourist and capital-city locations, leading to portfolio and operating restructuring.

  Action taken

  The business reduced its large-format footprint, cut staffing, sublet space, and reorganized around smaller sites managed by franchisees.

  Aftermath

  Operations were reported to have been devolved entirely to franchisees by 2009, while EasyGroup retained the brand name.

  Source

1. 1EasyInternetcaféen.wikipedia.org