The Company provides a promising and dynamic business opportunity for an investor. The opportunity is an online retailer of fabrics and curtains trading from an eBay shop with 21,000 items sold and 100% positive reviews. The business sells a wide range of products featuring premium designer brands, including William Morris, Sanderson, Harlequin, Villa Nova, Voyage Maison, Osborne & Little, Designers Guild, and John Lewis branded products.
The business buys most of its products at auction, predominantly ranges of John Lewis soft furnishings and made to measure blinds and curtains. The products are mostly from failed deliveries and cancelled orders, meaning the products the business trades are in perfect new condition. They also purchase fabric cages (roll pallets) containing 50 rolls. The rolls are usually between 1m and 3m in length and have a retail value of £10-£200. Auction prices vary but the average cost is £2. The average cost of the latest order was £1.73, with an average sale of £20.30.
There are also no business rates and as an eBay shop the business would be easily relocatable. The business requires no work or improvement whatsoever. Several opportunities exist for the investor to develop the business to allow it to achieve its full potential.
• The eBay shop could be opened up to a European (or even global) market using the eBay global shipping program. Our client has sold to Europe previously and generated £2,000 per annum. Following challenges with Brexit, eBay now manages customs and VAT. There is also a large Expat community that will purchase John Lewis products.
• Other retailers who use auctions to clear their stock could also be targeted. There is a growing market fuelled by customer returns from online purchases and vast potential beyond John Lewis. Our client advises us that there it would be a large benefit for the investor to persuade companies to send their clearance fabric/stock to The Company instead of going to auction, as auctioneers charge fees to sellers and buyers alike.
• The investor could also target the manufacturers of the products so that the business could purchase their clearance of customer returns, cancelled orders, etc.
• There is also a huge opportunity to diversify the product range.
• The investor could also set up their own online shop and have regular customers purchase directly to cut out eBay fees. Buyers would also benefit from the protection of Paypal or their credit card. The latest available data indicates that around 20% of customers are repeat buyers.
Offers Invited
