The Wesfarmers owned Catch is on a roll with the online business which is a serious threat to Kogan now cutting deals with major brands who have shunned the Kogan operation along with other online operations who need the clout of big brands that Catch is now attracting.

Catch’s gross transaction values rose 68.7 per cent in the five months to May 31, after growing 21.4 per cent in the December-half and part of that growth is down to brands such as Dyson, Belkin, Kleenmaid, Lenovo, HP, as well as brands such as Samsung and Apple.

According to Australia Post data online retailing has grown 80 per cent during the pandemic, and online sales have grown two- to three-fold at some retailers.

In April alone, more than 200,000 consumers started shopping online for the first time and one million more people are shopping online each week compared with the average in 2019.

This has led to suppliers including distributors now cuddling up to both mainstream retailers as well as online operations such as Catch.Once known as Catch Of The Day a web site that was shunned by mainstream brands that traditionally sold their wares at the likes of The Good Guys, Harvey Norman or JB Hi Fi Catch has taken on a whole new perspective and while some of their offerings are not cheap they do have the backing of the same Company that owns Officeworks, Bunnings, Kmart and Target and that coupled with a major restructure is paying dividends according to observers.

It also delivers them buying power claims analysts.

The person running the new Catch operation is Peter Sauerborn, a former Amazon executive who was lured to Australia last month by Wesfarmers.

Wesfarmers bought Catch from founders Gabby and Hezi Leibovich last June for $230 million to build Kmart and Target’s online sales and tap Catch’s expertise in e-commerce, online fulfilment, and digital marketing.

“I’m very excited about the opportunities of being part of Wesfarmers and the Kmart Group in particular,” Mr Sauerborn said.

He sees major headroom and growth opportunities for Catch after telling the Financial Review that online retail in Australia is five years behind that in the US but reached an inflection point during the coronavirus crisis and is likely to double over the next few years.Speaking before an AFR Retail Summit he said, “I’m new here to Australia but I’ve been in the online marketplace business for 10 years,”. Prior to joining Catch he was a vice-president of selling partner recruitment and development for Amazon in Seattle.”As I work through with the team, I’m seeing an inflection point in the momentum,” he told The Australian Financial Review ahead of the publication’s special virtual retail summit on Thursday.”

Shoppers had become more confident shopping online and major global brands were becoming more comfortable selling on marketplaces as well as their own online boutiques.

“The tailwind that the e-commerce space saw we have seen here at Catch,” he said.

Sauerborn, “Brands like Dyson and Apple and Kitchenaid are much more interested and excited moving online, and also pleased with the results they’re seeing on the Catch marketplace and the Catch retail business.

“They’re all looking at where does it make sense to develop their own website for their brand versus partnering with a marketplace or a broader online retailer.”Mr Sauerborn believes e-commerce is likely to account for about 20 per cent of total retail sales in three to five years (up from 10 per cent now and about 6 per cent a year ago), but only if Australian e-tailers lift their game.

He told the AFR “I believe that customers haven’t yet seen what really great looks like in e-commerce and as they see that they’ll have a greater level of trust and begin to move some of their purchases online,” he said.

Mr Sauerborn plans to expand and deepen Catch’s range in categories including homewares, kitchenware, beauty, groceries and sport and fitness, and recruit new brands for its retail in-stock business and its marketplace offer.

He also plans to leverage Catch’s relationship with bricks and mortar stablemates Kmart and Target and other parts of the Wesfarmers group.