(Smart Company) Australia's bricks and mortar retailers have been doing it tough of late. But then, it is getting hard to remember a time when they weren't.

But while news reports are filled with stories of companies such as Borders, Blockbuster and Premier Retail closing stores, many of Australia's online retailers are going from strength to strength.

The April 2000 dotcom crash wiped out many world-be online retails moguls, but that is now just a distant memory. And the current crop of etailers are working hard to undermine Gerry Harvey's claim in March this year that there's no history of anyone making money in online selling.

But with competitors just a click away, they also know that staying ahead of the game in online retail is a never-ending race. In October the analyst group Forrester reported that three quarters of Australia's online retailers planned to increase their investment in technology in the following year, spending more on core systems, mobile solutions, back office integration, and multichannel retail strategies.

Which ultimately should benefit consumers in terms of range and service.

Here is SmartCompany's list of Australia's best independent online-only retailers in alphabetical order.

Our list includes market leaders, established players and some rising stars. But all are setting the pace in a dynamic sector.

Appliances Online - www.appliancesonline.com.au

At just 27 years of age John Winning is building an online retail presence that threatens to eat into the Australian whitegoods market. After starting Appliances Online with just a laptop and a 1300 number six years ago, Winning has grown his etailer into a multimillion-dollar business with 80 staff, and proven that Australians will happily buy whitegoods and other electrical items online.

Customer numbers have doubled in the past 12 months – as have revenue – and more than 150,000 people have purchased appliances from the company.

brandsExclusive - www.brandsexclusive.com.au

Member-only shopping sites have been a standout success online. Launched in 2009, brandsExclusive lays claim to having been first into the Australian market, and today boasts 1.4 million members, with 70,000 more being added every month. They are active customers too, with the company reporting 800% revenue growth for the past 12 months, and a repeat purchase rate of 70%.

Staff numbers have grown at a similar rate, expanding from five at the company's launch 2009 to 160 now, while the brands sold have expanded from 50 to 800. brandsExclusive's 300,000 products now include homewares and wine, with more than 250,000 items shipped every month.

Booktopia - www.booktopia.com.au

Bookstores may be struggling, but not the online Australian bookseller Booktopia. Annual revenue has leapt from $9.4 million at the end of the 2009 financial year to $14.2 million 12 months later, and ongoing monthly figures are tracking 70% above those of the same period a year earlier.

he company is selling 4,000 books per day, which equates to a million each year – a figure that would be sure to make any large bricks and mortar retailer envious. Its team of 45 staff manages an inventory of more than 160,000 units that are ready to be shipped to customers on demand, helping boost satisfaction levels against international rivals. The company is now prepping its entry into eBook sales.

Catch of the Day - www.catchoftheday.com.au

Australia's most-visited locally owned online retailer CatchOfTheDay celebrated its fifth birthday in October this year, and according to web rankings agency Experian, more than 5.4 million visitors helped it celebrate. The company has reported revenue growth in excess of 100% each year since its foundation, with the 2010/11 financial year earning it more than $120 million. That result is expected to more than double again this financial year. It's not hard to see why, with shoppers purchasing an item every four seconds.

In June this year the company secured funding of $80 million from a consortium of business leaders including James Packer and Andrew Basset, assisting an expansion strategy that has seen CatchOfTheDay launch spin-off websites including the deal-of-the-day site Scoopon, and the recently-launched online supermarket, Grocery Run, the latter of which is already turning over $1.5 million each week. An online apparel retailer called brandstreet.com.au is scheduled for launch in early 2012.

CrazySales - www.crazysales.com.au

A consistent member of Experian's top 10 most visited shopping and classifieds websites, CrazySales specialises in providing deals directly from the manufacturer to the consumer. Discounts are set at least 30% below retail, and the company claims to ship 96% of orders the next business day. With a range that stretches from watches and jewellery to pet suppliers, CrazySales has sold more than one million items to half a million customers.

DealsDirect - www.dealsdirect.com.au

Another online retailer experiencing massive growth, Deals Direct chief Paul Greenberg is currently witnessing 50% uplift on the company's revenue of $100 million for the past financial year. The company boasts a database of one million shoppers and on a busy day ships 30,000 parcels.

The company has also been busy launching spin-off sites, including SuperMarketDeals.com.au and DealMe.com.au, as well as snapping up a number of smaller eCommerce-related businesses. Deals Direct has also opened a 50 seat call centre in Ingleburn – claimed to be the largest eCommerce call centre in Australia.

Fishpond - www.fishpond.com.au

With the audacious claim that "All our prices are better than Amazon – guaranteed", Fishpond has also taken a leaf out of Amazon's book with a service that enables users to sell their own items to the Fishpond buyer community. Maybe this is why it can also claim to be Australia's biggest online store, with more than six million books, 280,000 CDs and 92,000 DVDs. It also pulls in the traffic, with almost one million visitors in September, according to Experian.

Kogan - www.kogan.com.au

Kogan may not by the biggest business online, but thanks to the efforts of its founder, it is certainly one of the most well-known. Ruslan Kogan has delighted in dishing out advice and criticism to his offline competitors. It's not like his business is insignificant – revenue for the 2010-11 financial year was a respectable $23 million and will receive a further boost from the company's recent expansion into the UK.

Kogan has introduced many 'firsts' into the Australian market, including both new product types, and its innovative LivePrice system that provides customers with discounted prices when they purchase items well ahead of their delivery date.

OKme - okme.com.au

If you can't help them, beat them. OKme was founded in 2008 to assist existing pharmacy operators move online. After receiving a lukewarm response to its offer of help, its owners decided to give online pharmaceutical retailing a go themselves. The website was launched in September 2009 and in its first year generated $1.8 million. At the end of the 2010-11 financial year it had grown that to more than $4.4 million.

Stocked item numbers have grown from 500 to more than 10,000, including everything bar prescription medication. The company has also been listed on the Australian Small Scale Offerings Board, and added ad man Siimon Reynolds to its board of directors.

Le Domaine - www.ledomaine.com.au

The huge popularity of cooking shows in Australia has delivered a bonanza for the founders of Le Domaine. In the year since its launch the online retailer of domestic cooking equipment has witnessed monthly revenue grow from $30,000 in November last year to more than $130,000 now. Its initial 200 members have grown to more than 4,500, and its stock range has grown from 300 SKUs to more than 1,500.

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/internet/20111103-16-ecommerce-superstars.html