Home Leisure Direct’s Andy Beresford on Amazon Product Ads and the power of a cool product (episode 010)

by Chloë Thomas

Andy Beresford is the managing director of the multi award winning games room retailer Home Leisure Direct, where last year they grew turnover by 30%. Previously he worked at Dixons and Phones 4U.

That’s right – they sell Pool tables, arcade machines, air hockey tables – even neon signs – everything you need to kit out the perfect games room.

Home Leisure Direct is a Boutique Bricks and Clicks eCommerce business – selling online and via their physical showroom.

Click to Tweet: Hear Andy Bereford of Home Leisure Direct discuss Amazon Product Ads on @eComMasterPlan #podcast

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Andy Beresford of Home Leisure Direct
About the business

  • eCommerce Business Structure – Boutique Bricks and Clicks (website plus showroom in Bristol)
  • Product Range Scale – VERY niche, pool tables, & games machines
  • On a bespoke platform, built by bluebox
  • £5 million plus turnover, this year growth at 60%
  • 21 people in the business (at the start of the year was just 9!)
  • Based in the UK, sell globally
  • Key widgets in the website:
    • Feefo – for reviews
    • Custom built:
      • Personalisation tool
      • Predictive Search
      • Basket recovery

Amazon Product Ads experience:

[These are the ads that drive to your website, not that drive to your products on Amazon.]

  • Accounts for about 2-3% of sales, so there’s sizeable traffic
  • It’s paying it’s way, but profit isn’t amazing
  • Took a while to get it all set up right, and optimisation continues
  • Always good to have lots of marketing methods and not be too reliant on one

Most Awesome Thing Right Now

  • The product! and how excited it makes our customers.
  • The world of eCommerce – there’s always new things to learn and new opportunities to take.

On the Radar for the Coming Months

  • A new sales office
  • A new showroom at the base in Bristol
  • Own brand of pool tables is launching – to provide the customer with a great product at a great price
  • Own brand of retro arcade game consoles launching September too
  • A new concession in London’s Selfridges department store

eCommerce Book Top Tip

eCommerce Traffic Top Tip

  • Do everything – go after lots of routes to market to limit your risk

Tool Top Tip

Start Up Top Tip

  • Tighten your product range. Sell a clear niche rage of products, and one that excites you
  • Find the right customer segment to target

If your business didn’t exist, which eCommerce Business Would you like to be Running?

  • None of them! At the moment there’s no sector Andy feels it’s worth entering.

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