The former Bermuda Government quantity surveyor is behind an online business that is exporting home appliances, doors and windows from the US solely to clients on the Island.

John Cooper, an Englishman who lived and worked in Bermuda for around 15 years, runs Bermuda Supply from New Jersey.

Customers can shop and order online, through the bermudasupply.com web-site, and the company offers customs clearance, home delivery and warranties, including after-sales service through trained local personnel.

Mr. Cooper, 50, started the web-site five years ago focussing on selling construction materials. But the business has evolved to meet local demand and now offers a range of appliances, from washing machines to generators. And it is also the official dealer for US company Weather Shield Windows and Doors.

“We’ve been going about things quietly, but the business has taken off and we’re supplying quite a few residential customers, as well as larger clients like the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science and some people in Government,” Mr. Cooper said.

“Recently we decided to increase our advertising.”

One aspect of the increased publicity is a sponsored link with Google. Browsers using the internet search engine in Bermuda are directed to the company web-site when they type in relevant search words.

Mr. Cooper stressed that he was not trying to damage local businesses.

“I am not in the business of running people out of business,” Mr. Cooper said. “It’s not a predatory thing, it’s about supply and demand.

“I know there is a Buy Bermuda campaign and I personally always tried to support local businesses when I lived in Bermuda.

“But Bermuda has changed. It’s become less ‘touristy’ and more about international business. The world is changing. It used to be a dirty word, shopping overseas, but now I think it’s more acceptable.”

Some businesses were charging “artificial mark-ups”, Mr. Cooper said, taking advantage of the fact they had a captive clientele on the Island.

“Part of that mark-up is justified, of course, because there are costs like duty and shipping,” he added. “But the gap between what things cost in the US and what they cost in Bermuda shows there is also an artificial mark-up, which we hope to cut into.

“When a Bermuda business imports things, he has to pay all the overheads and then sometimes things don’t sell. My business method is to operate from offshore, supply people with what they want and to reduce overheads.”

Clients can shop on the web-site, designed by Mr. Cooper, and the company ships to Bermuda weekly.

Mr. Cooper worked as the Government’s quantity surveyor — in charge of estimating costs of construction materials and advising on economic decisions on a building project — for a decade and he also worked in private practice here.

He is a former secretary of the Bermuda Association of Surveyors and served on the building industry’s Bermuda Contracts Committee. Mr. Cooper was also a Youthnet mentor.

[bul] Bermuda Supply is on the internet at www.bermudasupply.com.