Domain registrar feels bite of sinking economy.
Domain name registrar Name.com has laid off 10% of its staff, according to a post on its company blog. (Link to post removed because no longer active.)
After growing last year, the company started to cut back on costs in October. But the cuts were not enough. Name.com cites razor small margins on domain names and intense competition, along with the faltering economy, for its woes.
Name.com says customers need not worry; these cuts will enable the company to continue for the long haul:
We’re confident that we’ve done the right thing for the health of the company but we’re sad to see members of our family off on their own during this tough economic time. As we move into what is likely to be one of the hardest economic periods our company is likely to encounter we’re hopeful for the future while we keep a keen eye on the bottom line.
We’re not going anywhere. We’re in it for the long haul, but we’re all about letting you know what’s happening behind the orange facade of Name.com.
Name.com is the 27th largest ICANN-accredited registrar, according to RegistrarStats.com. It has about 575,000 domain names under management.
Another domain registrar that has recently cut staff is Tucows (AMEX: TCX)
RKB says
Sign of time I guess.
Everyone is suffering in domain biz these days.
Francois says
Sign of times?
I don’t think:
A good example is in one hand we have a registar who spended 2 millions for party and in another a smaller one that is unable to generate enough business to keep his staff.
It’s simply an extremelly competitive sector, with incredibly low margins and where you have to do big volumes to survive.
And if it was not enough, domains holders don’t change of registrar easily… Except if the support fails, obligating to have a premium quality support that cost a lot of money and dedication.
A nightmare for new comers that does not have another business/source of revenue to finance the growing.
Courage Name.com!