eCommerce MasterPlan

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

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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

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.

Interview Links

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