The eureka moment for Mark Thomas came when, as a salesman, his best customer didn’t want to buy his product as it wasn’t very good. Seeing a market that wasn’t being well serviced, Thomas teamed up with a former colleague, Chris Jones, to launch Switchshop in 1999. The company deals in networking equipment – “anything to do with shifting data around a campus or across a wide area network,” explains Thomas. Between 80-90 per cent of clients are in the public sector, which has provided good stability. “It’s a difficult market to break into, but if you are in and know the people, you should protect it. They tend to be quite loyal.” Other than that, it has been a question of getting the basics right. “We make sure quotes are answered immediately, we ship kit as fast as we can and work on good customer relationships. We have good credit lines with major distributors and try to pay on time,” says Thomas. Sales have increased from £2m to £5.9m over four years, achieved with just ten staff. www.switchshop.co.uk
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.