Total of 18657 firms and businesses for sale today Thursday 28th March 2024
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Sold. Online/e-commerce Retailer Of Own Brand Home,cooking & Travel Products

LISTING DETAILS
Firms For Sale ID:
35134
Vendor reference:
AI042
Vendor website:
     
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BUSINESS DETAILS
Location:
Primary sector:
Secondary sector:
Asking price:
£120,000  
Turnover / revenue:
£400,000
Net profit / cashflow:
Undisclosed

OTHER DETAILS
Business is relocatable:
Yes
Business is web-based:
Yes
Business is home-based:
No
PROPERTY DETAILS
 
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BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
This relatively young, yet well established and highly respected business/brand has been trading successfully for some 5 years and specialises in the online supply of homewares, travel and kitchen/cooking products/appliances and accessories, supplying the whole of the UK and to a lesser extent overseas. The majority of sales are online retail (circa 87.5 %) with the remaining 12.5% supplied to trade customers.

Based in the North East of England, this dynamic and successful brand is committed to bringing to market the very best in cooking and dining accessories, home and leisure gadgets, and a comprehensive range of travel and storage products and accessories.

The company has enjoyed impressive growth over a relatively short period of time and the brand is growing year by year with more and more product ranges being added.

During the financial year ending May 2019 the business successfully sold an impressive 317,000 units. This volume of sales highlights the strength and market penetration the brand is enjoying. The back office technology the company has invested in is superb and easily accommodates this high volume of sales, preventing the need for high numbers of staff yet still delivering impressive levels of customer service whilst still having plenty of spare capacity.

This company/brand’s reputation is impeccable, they have a 99% positive feedback rate on Amazon.co.uk and 99.7% on eBay UK. They are top rated sellers on Amazon with many number 1 best-selling products and also Top rated sellers on eBay.co.uk

The business has long established supply agreements in place and sources high quality items at very competitive prices. They have excellent internal systems so they can rank new products to ensure consistent quality control throughout the range. This is helping to develop the brand The business is very service driven and as such is regarded very much at the top of the market for quality in terms of trusted brands, choice of solution, delivery, and always strives to satisfy the customers' requests and needs.

The business prides itself on its speed of response and proactive after-sales approach ensuring it always carries adequate stock of popular lines. It is also on hand to give advice with regards to the more technical products it supplies and offers excellent support, be it high quality images, “how to” videos and excellent packaging/instructions. It is also very proactive with regards advising of new and innovative products as and when they become available.

The company supplies its products both UK wide and to a lesser extent worldwide. Sales are predominantly online through various key online selling channels, as well as via their own impressive e-commerce website.

The company experiences very low return rates as a result of the quality of its merchandise.

This online business is totally portable and scaleable. Its customer base, and supply chain for that matter, has grown and strengthened year on year. It has relatively low fixed costs and is simple to run. Sales are strong and the busienss enjoys impressive levels of profitability.

The business model has been put in place. It is ripe for a new owner to utilise the superb and highly valuable positioning this company has developed, both online and in the market though its relationships with leading manufacturers and suppliers. The opportunity is there to either bolt on to an existing operation or for a new owner to scale up the business to maximise the many opportunities already at its disposal.

Due to the owner’s other business requiring additional capital the vendor has had to scale back this business. These cash-flow issues and having to repay loans to the bank has meant that they have not been able to keep all items stocked and they have had to sacrifice many of their best sellers to repay loans and keep the more profitable products going in the vendor’s other business.

They currently have only got a small range of high selling products that they have kept going.

In 2019-20 the turnover had reduced to £1.7m producing a gross profit of c£330,000. The current year’s sales are projected to be c£400,000 with a GP of c£120,000.


The advantage for a buyer would be that if they had the cash they could repurchase all the items that were the good selling products and instantly grow the turnover and profits again once they came back into stock. The business has excellent terms with suppliers.

It could be easily run with 2 to 3 people so £50k would cover salaries..

Equipment:

The business has invested in technology and has excellent e-commerce websites (both its own and via online portals) using leading third party products that are simple to use. They provde many report and analysis tools including rank tracking, search volume, conversion rates, etc.

All technology and equipment is included within the asking price.





Customer Service:

The business provides customers with a comprehensive level of customer service and this is evident in the excellent reviews it enjoys (tens of thousands). The impressive feedback scores on Amazon, eBay etc. as already mentioned speak for themselves!

The company has been careful in its selection of supply partners and this has supported the brand’s development over time. Products have been thoroughly tested and have all the correct certificates such as, LFGB, TUV, and CE etc.

Its own website is easy to use and provides customers with a huge range of products, advice, delivery details and a simple returns policy. It offers a comprehensive warranty for its branded products.

The site is highly secure.


Key Strengths:

• Profitability
• Impeccable reputation
• Superb supply relationships. They are therefore able to provide competitive prices to customers for a quality brand at the same time generating strong margins
• NOT owner dependant
• Highly prized and extremely valuable feedback scores/listings
• Market presence with further brand development opportunities
• Broad product range
• Truly scalable business model
• All year round sales
• Truly portable with low overheads
• Positive cash flow

Growth and Expansion/Opportunities:

The business has expanded and enjoyed impressive profitability since inception, however, it still has widespread opportunities for further growth and development. These opportunities include:
• Expanding product range, the business has many new items ready to go.
• Selling in more countries.
• Selling on more marketplaces.
• Put marketing efforts into website using PPC and Social media marketing campaigns.

There is a vast range of additional complimentary product possibilities that would be superb additions to the business for increasing its online sales.

The brand and reputation has been forged. The company is ideally positioned for a new owner wishing to expand the business and take it through its next natural period of growth and increased profitability.

Integration into an existing e-commerce operation would also be straightforward.

This is a huge opportunity for the right buyer to return the Business to its 2019 levels of trading and profitability.

Advertising:

The business is very much geared to online sales and marketing. As already mentioned the business’s own website enjoys very impressive organic rankings and feedback and also enjoys excellent exposure via other portals and undertakes sponsored advertising on both Amazon and eBay. It also has its own brochure and does limited direct mailshots (this is an area that could be significantly developed).

Employees:

The business model has been developed in such a way that it is a very simple business to run. The owner has invested in technology and third party fulfilment to ensure high efficiency and eradicate the need for large numbers of staff. The owner is very much part time in the business.

Staff required- Customer Services Manager and 2 Warehouse Operatives.

There are no employees within this business. This company pays a management charge to one of the vendor’s other businesses for the above staff resource. This gives a new owner huge flexibility with regards possible relocation and ease of integration into an existing operation.

It must be noted that the business is NOT dependent on the owner.


Business Hours:

Websites: 24/7
Office: 08:30-16:30 Monday to Friday


Premises:

There are no premises associated with the sale- the business is truly relocatable. Its clients are nationwide and overseas so it could be based anywhere within the UK with no impact on sales.

The current operation is run from the premises of the vendors other company. This business pays a management charge for rent/utilities/services etc.


Financial Information:

The business is being offered for sale on a going concern basis, all financial discussions will take place directly between the vendor and all interested parties under the auspices of Turner Butler.

Turnover in 2018-19 was £3.163m with a GP of £707k;
In 2019-20 turnover was £1.7m with a GP of £330k.
Current year turnover is estimated at £400k with a GP of £120k.


Stock estimated at £150,000.



Asking Price:

The asking price is for the Goodwill and SAV of the business.

Support and Training:

Vendor will provide a comprehensive handover to ensure a seamless transition and continuity of trading, this should be relatively straight forward based on the current business model.