A new shipping business has passed a milestone with its 1,000th customer.

Island Bargains of Bermuda will tonight celebrate hitting four figures by sponsoring the first of the summer Harbour Nights in Hamilton.

The service was the brainchild of businesswoman Dawn Zuill, of Hamilton’s Atlantic Relocators and Daisy and Mac, who teamed up with Florida-based Island Bargains chief Richard Chilton last year.

Ms Zuill said: “This is the first official Harbour Night and Island Bargains is the sponsor for the evening, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce.

“Since we launched last November, we’ve had literally hundreds of people using the service, both private individuals and small businesses that have really reaped the benefits of Island Bargains.”

Mr Chilton, who covers nearly 30 countries across the Caribbean and Latin America from a 20,000 square foot warehouse in Fort Lauderdale, added: “Bermuda is climbing up to be one of our better islands.

“It’s very quickly gaining momentum — customers appreciate the value of the service and the referrals our customers are giving speaks volumes. Our customer base is growing rapidly.”

The firm claims the lowest shipping rates to Bermuda, starting at $10 per cubic foot, and the Island Bargains website offers a range of 3,000 food, drink and household items.

The service also allows customers to send US online buys to the Fort Lauderdale warehouse, where goods are transported to Bermuda on the Somers Isles container shop, which sails to the Island every ten days.

An air freight service is also due to take off, with a twice-weekly service at $15 for the first pound and $4 a pound over that.

Items of more than eight cubic foot are subject to a quote and there are no extra fees, other than the standard Bermuda Customs duty and wharfage fees.

Customers can pick up their goods at the Island Bargains office in Daisy and Mac in Bermudiana Arcade, Queen Street, or goods can be delivered for a fee.

Mr Chilton said: “Fort Lauderdale is a huge export zone, so all the vendors and merchants people do business with are located within a mile or two.”

Ms Zuill added: “We also do a lot of procurement and personal shopping for homeowners and businesses.

“Contractors and small businesses are also using the warehouse to buy a pallet of goods, shipping some of it and storing the rest in the warehouse until they need it.

“That’s great for businesses that don’t have storage facilities.”

Island Bargains’ general manager Roderick Petty said: “We manage the agency for international businesses working throughout the Caribbean. We can manage their business across the Caribbean through one point of contact in Bermuda.”

Mr Petty said the firm would also be hosting a seminar to promote Island Bargains to business users in Flanagan’s Outback bar tomorrow night from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

Meanwhile, prizes on offer tonight include a year’s free shipping for existing customers of Island Bargains, plus various free shipping giveaways of different values for new clients.