International business will soon eclipse UK operations, MD Hussain says, with company also aiming for £1 million worth of sales in first year in distribution sector
Online mobile accessories retailer Mobile Fun is looking to increase the number of countries it has a presence in to 50 before the end of the financial year as its global business gathers momentum.
Mobile Fun has a presence in 31 countries, including Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, the US, Canada, China, Japan, South Africa and Australia.
It currently has six offices in the UK, Spain, France, Germany, the US and Australia, and employs 16 people in these countries.
The firm will also recruit 10 new members of staff before the end of March 2014 to be based at its UK office in Birmingham and focused on growing its international business.
Mobile Fun managing director Mohammed Hussain (pictured) said he wants to be in the top 50 e-commerce markets in the world. He said he expects the firm’s international business to soon eclipse its UK operations.
In the last financial year, total sales rose by 14.7 per cent to £11.5 million. Global sales were up by nearly half to £4.9 million. Total group orders across all websites rose by 17.2 per cent to 465,847, with orders on its international website up by 58.6 per cent to 156,532.
“Our international expansion is the biggest driver behind our growth. We are in 31 countries and are targeting 50. We have our eye on more countries because the model works really well.”
Distribution target
Hussain added: “We don’t have to have an office and a person on the ground in each country. For example, our manager in Germany also runs our operations in nearby Austria and Switzerland.
“We started in Germany in 2008 and it took six months to set up in and 18 months to get fully going. Now we can do multiple countries in a couple of weeks because we have that process nailed.
“It will probably eclipse our UK business soon, and that would be quite a milestone.”
Meanwhile Mobile Fun has set itself a target of achieving sales of at least £1 million in its first year in distribution.
The company is establishing a distribution business early next year to cater for the demand from high street retailers and dealers for products.
The newly established division will run alongside its online retail business in Birmingham.
“We can get a foothold in distribution. We won’t take huge level of market share in the first year, but we want to target at least £1 million of sales in distribution.
“I actually don’t feel that’s a very ambitious target – it’s conservative and something I’m absolutely confident we can achieve.”
