ST. GEORGE — Zonos, headquartered in St. George, has opened its first international office in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The software company says the new branch will help them better meet the needs of their growing Asia-Pacific business.
Travis Robinson is the general manager for the new location. Robinson has been working at Zonos in St. George for eight years.
“Australia and the Gold Coast have been truly amazing,” said Robinson. “The only thing that has exceeded the area itself is the level of talent that has come on board. I’m excited to see the real impact our Gold Coast team makes not only for our customers but on Global Trade.”
Zonos chose the Gold Coast rather than a larger Australian city because it closely mirrors its culture of supporting a healthy work-life balance, he said. Zonos’ headquarters of St. George is known for its sunshine, tourism and rapidly developing tech sector.
There are six Zonos employees based in the Gold Coast city. Except for Robinson, all are Australian. Though hailing from down under, their backgrounds are diverse and worldwide because they live in the coastal city, according to Misha Ercanbrack, Public Relations.
“The CEO and founder of Zonos, Clint Reid, loves this idea of disrupting global trade from a desert city. Reid is proud that Zonos’ employees are in places where people get to leave work and go bike or surf at the end of the day,” Ercanbrack said. “That is why he picked St. George as the place to be their permanent headquarters. And that’s why he picked the Gold Coast to be our first international office outside of the U.S.”
As the Asia-Pacific area leads global e-commerce sales, Zonos says its software simplifies the complexities of global cross-border commerce while allowing retailers to keep operations in-house.
In the U.S., there are certain benefits in place for commerce. The consumer usually doesn’t have to pay duties, tariffs or taxes when purchasing items internationally unless over $800.00.
“That’s not the case in many countries in the world. You spend over 20 or 30 pounds on something that’s outside of the United Kingdom and there are some fees associated with that,” Ercanbrack said. “If you don’t collect that at checkout, it is something you have to pay upon delivery. It can significantly increase the overall cost and a bad customer experience. And it hurts businesses as they end up losing a lot of customers.”
With a sunny, subtropical climate, the Gold Coast has become known for its world-class surfing beaches, high-rise skyline and rainforest hinterland. The city is part of the nation’s entertainment industry with television and film industry production.
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