"People want that ease of purchase."

Immediacy is what the business is all about. "Nowadays people want to get everything done as soon as possible."

"Take the other day: we had this guy from Tennessee that wanted to buy some Irish crystal. He told us how he looked up the site, rang us, paid for the present and ordered it to be sent gift-wrapped all over his iPhone while walking down the street. People want that ease of purchase."

Reported in the Cork Examiner, in the past 10 months Liz and Jim O’Flynn, from Cork, have set up claddaghlane.com , a one-stop-shop gift site for people wishing to buy top Irish and international brands, including Waterford Crystal, Belleek and Border Fine Arts. It is a truly global venture and the O’Flynns plan to have the site translated into French, German, Italian and Russian, providing quality brands at lesser cost.

"We have prices negotiated with the various brands. We then operate at tight margins by selling them as competitively as we can and offering free shipping. We can afford to do this as we don’t hold stock. Your order comes to us and immediately our computer system sends an order to the brand. They supply to order and are paid immediately and so neither of us deal with credit. We have no debtors. We all get paid immediately. This is how the next generation of business will be done. No business can afford to keep inventories any more."

A way forward for brands seeking an alternative, cost-effective route to consumer?