"Market leader offered me £100k to close my website down!"

Plantedtanks.co.uk, a brand new online shop specialising in aquatic plants is owned and run by Tony Newsom-Virr. Tony signed up with ekmPowershop.com to build his ecommerce website just a few weeks ago,

“We decided to try ekmPowershop.com as it seemed to be the only ‘cheap’ and no contract shopping facility we could find on the web, plus the interface seemed simple enough. We purchased our shop on the 5th March 2010 and started work.”

Tony used the intuitive control panel offered by ekmPowershop.com and the expert knowledge of their Technical Support Team, to build his new online shop in a matter of weeks:

“We purchased a domain name at roughly the same time (as we purchased the shop) and started to create our store front. We then continued for the next 2 weeks uploading stock – and believe me typing in nearly 200 Latin plant names is a chore! We spoke to ekmPowershop.com’s support team for assistance on product variations and options, how to upload using a spreadsheet and add new products etc.”

Tony set his site live on the 23rd March and bagged his first order the very next day! Going from strength to strength, it is hard to believe that the website is still less than a month old,

“We have already been listed on several of the major industry websites and we are higher ranking on Google and Yahoo than the European Industry leading companies that specialise in these products. We have also had several serious enquiries from competitors to see what we are doing that is making us so successful. Already we are ranked as the 3rd largest importer of aquatic plants in the UK for the fishkeeping industry… we have overtaken one competitor already, and one even offered me £100k to close my website!””

Within 4 weeks of its launch, Plantedtanks.co.uk has taken its competition by storm, and Tony has even been asked to do an interview for the world leading publication for fish keeping! 

How has Tony managed to set up an online business and make such an impact in such a short space of time? 

“Using a combination of ekmPowershop (ecommerce), ekmPinpoint (web stats) and ekmResponse (email marketing) has really shown how you can grow a business on a budget. I want to say thanks to Ekm Systems for ekmPowershop.com and their suite of products. I can honestly say this has completely blown my mind!”

So why does ekmPowershop.com work so well against other shopping cart providers in the UK market place? How can somebody like Tony find instant success with an outlay of just £19.99 per month? 

Antony Chesworth, owner and founder of ekmPowershop.com observes 

“These days there are lots of platforms to choose from when it comes to selling your products online. Many are in the region of £20 per month, just like ekmPowershop.com. 

We were the first company to offer the software as a service model to the UK ecommerce market, and established the price point which has now become industry standard. I’m quite proud to be the originator of such a fundamental model to online retail as we know it.”

Simplicity to the end user (the shop owner) is the key, and of course… performance as standard,

Perhaps ekmPowershop.com’s pedigree in off the shelf shopping cart technology explains why the performance of one online shop to another depends entirely on the platform you choose to build it on. 

Why not give your online business a fighting chance like Tony at Plantedtanks.co.uk from the offset? Choose the right ecommerce provider for your ecommerce venture and turn a pipe dream into reality.

Talented entrepreneur Antony Chesworth, 29 based in Darwen, celebrated national success this week at the Enterprising Young Brits awards for his business ekmPowershop.com.

Antony scooped the highly acclaimed award from Lord Peter Mandelson at the Institute of Directors, which was attended by some of the UK's top business people. The competition is open to entrepreneurs who have made their idea happen in a new, innovative or inspiring way.

The award was presented in style by Lord Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. It was Lord Mandelson’s first appearance since parliament dissolved for the run up to the General Election. 

Antony set up ekmPowershop.com in 2002 whilst unemployed. He ran up huge credit card debts to get his business going against all odds. His company which enables people to build their own online shop is now worth in excess of £20 million pounds. ekmPowershop.com is now the market leader in UK ecommerce, powering 1 in every 5 online shops in the UK.

Commenting on his achievement, Antony said: “The whole essence of ekmPowershop.com is to enable people to set up their own online business.  Winning the Enterprising Young Brit award is an honour and it shows that with drive, ambition and a bit of perseverance anyone can succeed.”

Lord Mandelson, Business Secretary of the State comments: “Despite the toughest economic conditions we have known for the past decades, this year’s competition has received a record number of entries. That says something about enterprise and about the young people who are committed to enterprise in this country.”

Antony will now become an Enterprise UK Ambassador. As an Ambassador for the organisation, Antony will network with some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs and help inspire the next generation of Peter Jones and Alan Sugars.

A talented young entrepreneur will be flying the flag for Lancashire after making it through the final of the national Enterprising Young Brits competition, and local people are being given the opportunity to back him in an online public vote.

Antony Chesworth has been named as a finalist for his Darwen-based Ekm Systems Ltd, an internet service provider whose main product ekmPowershop.com provides ecommerce facilities to one out of every five online shops in the UK. He will now pitch to a panel of judges at the final, due to be held at the prestigious Institute of Directors in London on 30 March 2010. In addition, the public can choose the winner of the coveted People’s Choice award in an online vote, open from Tuesday 23 March at www.enterpriseuk.org/youngbrits.

Commenting on his achievement, Mr. Chesworth said: “Reaching the final of such a prestigious enterprise competition is really encouraging. I know I’ll be up against some tough competition at the final, but I’ll certainly do my very best to bring an Enterprising Young Brit award back to Darwen”

Enterprising Young Brits shines the spotlight on talented young people who are bucking the recession by seizing opportunities to turn their ideas into successful businesses, generating jobs and wealth within their communities. Run by Enterprise UK and supported by the Institute of Directors, the Daily Mail, and the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, the competition highlights that age is no barrier to turning ideas into reality.

Scott Cain, Deputy Chief Executive of Enterprise UK, comments: “Enterprising Young Brits such as Antony have shown that age is no barrier to entrepreneurial success. I’d encourage people of any age to take inspiration from the finalists’ ideas and their can-do spirit. With so many talented young business brains competing this year, it’s sure to be an exciting final.”

This year’s 25 finalists are split over five categories:

·         New startup – For enterprising individuals who have started their own business, large or small, within the past three years.

·         Social, ethical or environmental – For ventures combining the principles of a successful business with an emphasis on the social, ethical or environmental benefits it can provide.

·         Teen – For anybody aged 13-19 who is making their enterprising idea happen.

·         Creative – Rewarding enterprising individuals in the creative industries such as fashion, music, design, or the arts.

·         Open category – Entrants who business did not immediately fit into one of the four categories above were welcome to enter the Open category.

The winner of each category will take home £1,000 and a trophy.

Photograph shows Antony Chesworth 
(Hi-Res Version at http://www.antonychesworth.co.uk/page/Photos.aspx)

For more information please contact Steven Hickey at Ekm Systems Ltd at stevenhickey@ekmsystems.co.uk or 0871 230 7116.

ekmPowershop.com, the UK’s leading ecommerce software provider shows some interesting findings for Valentine’s gifts bought online this year.

We saw the usual; chocolates, flowers, underwear and general items in red or heart themed all selling out fast.

But the big surprise we found from our panel of online shop owners – the increased demand in pet treats! Certainly the most prominent finding for ekmPowershop.com this year, as our study profiled over 6000 online shops in the UK over the Valentine’s period.

When probing our busy online shop owners, Kelly Copeland of www.prettypawsaccessories.co.uk commented on what has become a massive growth industry both off and online:

“We do a lot on the heart ID tags, collars, "I love my mum" T shirts and any other Valentine type stuff. People want to buy their pets something now as they're a loved one also.”

And Dana Parry from www.spottiedottie.co.uk added “I'm doing a roaring trade in Valentine treats for dogs!“

As a nation of pet lovers it appears as though Valentine’s trade is reaching new levels, largely attributed to the online sector. Where could you buy your cat a diamante collar on the local high street? It’s possible there may be the odd shop up and down the country, but by in large most people wouldn’t know where to find such a shop… but they do online. 

As a holiday season, Valentine’s is a short, sharp burst. However for the week preceding February 14th many online shop owners say it’s as busy as Christmas, particularly within the industries you might normally associate with Valentines, as Jason Stanley from www.cupidlingerie.co.uk observes:

“It is probably on a level with Christmas in terms of volume of sales per day...but for a shorter period… We have also noticed an increase in sales of bra solutions (clear backed, and diamante backed bras) for backless dresses. Maybe the ladies are anticipating a special night out”

Jason also observed how men in particular ramp up their spending over the Valentine’s period: “We always notice an increase in sales of the higher end brands, and an increase in sales to gentlemen in the lead up to Valentine's Day.” 

So do men buy more presents at Valentines? Do men feel pressured to do so? Do women expect a present without buying one back? Or do men just shop online at the last minute more than women? 

Either way, whether you are male or female – don’t forget… pets have feelings (and Valentines) too. 

Press Release:

ekmPowershop.com, the UK’s leading shopping cart provider surveyed over 6000 online shops in the run up to Christmas 2009. The biggest independent survey of its kind in the UK found that independent retailers are growing more resilient against the perceived clout of the ‘retail giants’. 

Most of the headlines were rather predictably grabbed by the bigger retailers like Play.com, Amazon and John Lewis, but what about the SMES? They are the heart and soul of the British economy and employ the bulk of our population. Independent businesses are thriving online as our studies show. 

Across the board, merchants have seen an increase on last Christmas (2008) in the region of 23%. That’s solid proof that despite the recession, retailers can still grow their businesses by diversifying through online channels. It’s also an encouraging sign of consumer confidence picking back up as we start to loosen the purse strings. 

Steven Hickey, Head of Commercial Development at ekmPowershop.com reflects on the biggest annual survey for online retail in the SME sector – one which the online retail industry looks forward to every year:

“As a hosted platform with more merchants than any other company in the industry, we can query our servers and get live, accurate data like no other provider can. The stats we produce are used by both the hosting and payment service providers as a glimpse at the coming 12 months and any changes or shifts in buying patterns we may be in for. At the moment the big shift seems to be in value based purchases; as people shop around for the best price and make a more considered purchase with their diminished funds compared to 2 years ago before the recession set in. Stocking hard to find products and offering a more personal level of Customer Care also seems to be a big advantage for the smaller online businesses.”

Caroline Rutter from online retailer www.PrettyCool.co.uk comments on how smaller retailers have greater flexibility which gives them a competitive edge over the retail giants:

“We have many, many products that the retail giants only stock when they see shops like ours selling weeks before hand. For instance, our bendy necklaces have been on our site for two years and we sell many each week, but you will not see them on the retail giant sites”.

Stocking hard to find items and offering a more personal touch makes smaller online shopping websites a more popular choice than in previous years. As they develop over time it seems as though things will only get better too. 

Sarah Burns from online jewellery retailer www.Jewellery2clear.co.uk observes how her business competes with the major retail brands online: “It is possible for smaller companies to compete if they rank high enough within the major search engines, and can provide diverse products at the right price. Such a service that can in many respects be better than larger organisations”.

Even industries where we might expect there to be a downturn over winter months such as swimwear and swimming equipment have felt the surge online this Christmas. Carla Lloyd from www.FunSwimShop.co.uk added:

“The online environment does create more of a level playing field for retailers, smaller companies can compete if they offer products people want and invest time and money optimising their site for the search engines. Orders are up 100% on this period last year.” 

Antony Chesworth, Managing Director of Ekm Systems Ltd has seen the year on year growth of independent online retail since he created ekmPowershop.com eight years ago: 

“"We see too much emphasis given to the giants of the retail sector both online and offline, when year on year we see how small independent businesses with small budgets win big by having their own online shop. Many of these small independents today will become the giants of tomorrow."

Full Press Release at http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=52809

In recent years, ‘Cyber’ or ‘Mega Monday’ has been coined by the online retail industry as the busiest online shopping day of the year.

This year it seems to have fallen early – before the advent month of December had even started.

So are we all buying presents a tad early this year? Or are we in for a bigger Monday in December? Last year’s busiest day fell on Monday 8th December in the UK.

Industry analysts are already counting the pennies spent, and have blown the whistle a week early in declaring this year’s Cyber Monday as the 30th November – with Visa estimating around £300m being spent online.

According to ecommerce software provider ekmPowershop.com, a survey of over 6,000 online shops revealed that online spending is up on last year by around 21.3% in the independent retail sector.

Antony Chesworth, Managing Director of ekmPowershop.com comments “We have seen another year of increased spending in the online sector. Despite the recession and businesses closing due to the climate around them, consumers still seem to be increasing their online spends. The perceived savings offered by online retailers over the high street is proving to have counteracted the impact of the recession for online retailers in general. Some are still facing the challenges of the economic downturn, as despite year on year growth in demand; supply chain failure is now becoming a more prominent issue. The continued rise in demand pitted against issues of supply seems to be the biggest challenge for the online sector over the next 12 months in the UK. ”

To put the level of year on year growth, and popularity of online shopping into perspective: John Lewis actually recorded bigger sales in one day last month (November 22 2009), than on Cyber Monday last year (the biggest day of 2008). Could they be in for an even bigger Monday in the December weeks to come? Along with the rest of the online community, they will be hoping, and probably projecting ‘Yes’.