From 1795 to Shopify: Building a £12M eCommerce Toy Brand, with Joe Jaques (episode 590)
Joe Jaques is the CEO at Jaques of London, inventors of croquet, ping pong and chess as we know them, and championing play as the foundation of learning. Founded in 1795 (yes over 200 years ago) Joe is the 8th generation toymaker to lead this family business, winning multiple awards in recent years. Now selling via their Shopify site and Amazon they are on track for £12million this year.
In this episode, Joe shares how he transformed a centuries-old games company into a modern eCommerce brand. He talks about pivoting into educational toys, building a highly data-driven marketing strategy, and navigating the challenges of rapid growth, financial restructuring, and rebuilding the business stronger than before.
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Dive in:
[06:09] “Educational Play for Early Childhood”
[08:07] In-House Operations and Control
[13:04] Rooted Values and Solid Growth
[14:57] “Facing Collapse After Growth”
[18:11] “Navigating Challenges with Support”
[22:22] “AI for Data Analysis”
[24:19] “In-House Creative and Personas”
[25:47] Listen to Joe’s Top Tips!
Master One Market Before Expanding Globally
Many eCommerce founders rush to sell internationally. Joe Jaques took a different approach. His team focused on mastering the UK market first. The UK toy market alone is worth billions, which creates plenty of growth opportunity. By focusing on one market, they can build stronger brand recognition and drive repeat purchases. For eCommerce businesses, depth in one market can often outperform shallow global expansion.
Data Is the Most Powerful Growth Tool in eCommerce
Joe describes himself as a “data geek,” and that mindset shapes the business. Every marketing decision starts with data. When acquisition costs rise or performance drops, the team digs into the numbers to find the cause. Tools like attribution platforms and AI help them analyze huge datasets quickly. For eCommerce operators, the lesson is clear: the deeper you go into your data, the better your decisions become.
Vertical Integration Can Improve Quality and Control
Jaques of London manages much of its supply chain in-house. They even run their own warehouse in China to handle quality control and packaging before products ship to the UK. This level of control helps them maintain high product standards. It also allows them to fix issues quickly and protect their brand reputation. eCommerce brands that control more of their supply chain often gain a strong competitive advantage.
Rapid Growth Can Be Risky Without Cash Flow Discipline
The company experienced explosive growth during COVID. Revenue jumped dramatically as demand for toys surged. But the rapid expansion also came with higher costs and debt. When the market shifted, the business had to restructure through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). Joe’s biggest lesson is to stay close to cash flow at all times. Revenue growth is exciting, but strong financial control is what keeps a business alive.
Creative Marketing Still Starts With Understanding the Customer
While algorithms and ad platforms keep evolving, Joe believes the fundamentals stay the same. The key is understanding why someone would buy your product. His team creates ads based on real customer motivations, not just platform trends. They produce most creative content in-house so they can test ideas quickly. Technology and AI can support marketing, but they cannot replace customer insight. The brands that win are the ones that truly understand their audience.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger by Charles T. Munger
- Black Box Thinking: Growth Mindset and the Secrets of High Performance by Matthew Syed
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
- Plus a bonus “watch top tip” from Joe: The Thinking Game, a 2024 feature-length documentary that provides an inside look at Google DeepMind and its pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence under the leadership of CEO Sir Demis Hassabis.
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Optimize your site pop-up. Joe highlights that a well-optimized pop-up can convert around 7% of visitors into subscribers.
Tool Top Tip
Carbon Top Tip
- Focus on quality and real customer support. Selling durable products and resolving issues through human conversations (instead of unnecessary returns and replacements) reduces waste and lowers carbon footprint.
Interview links
Related Episodes
- How to hit 7-figures selling products available everywhere with Bec Slack from CleverStuff (episode 353)
- Solving your Tech Stack issues by replatforming with Ashley Hubbard from Grenson Shoes (episode 367)
- Acquisition Advantage: How Scandiborn Supercharged The Kid Collective with Laura Davies (episode 538)
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