Johnson credits the unit with being cheap-ish, but Chris Gabbott of car batteries retailer Alpha Batteries, who moved into the mill last September from his home in Bury, believed there was more to it than just price. There is a good atmosphere here and it seems to be a place where acorns turn into oak trees, Gabbott said.
Well-managed He credits the centres management, Bizspace (part of the Buckinghamshire-based Highcross Group) with providing the right kind of environment. The rents are quite reasonable and it seems to be well-run. The building is manned 24 hours and there is a night man on all night. That gives us a bit of peace of mind and it seems very well-managed, he said. He has just moved from the second floor into a 1,000 sq ft ground floor unit which has allowed him to offer a counter service alongside the online operation. Like Jacqui Lowe-Jackson, he found that as soon as he started putting his trading address on the eBay shop and his own website, customers started knocking on the unit.I sell a lot of specialist batteries for leisure equipment and I have also started selling truck batteries and people have come from as far away as Warrington or Halifax to save on the postage, he said. Lowe-Jackson, meanwhile, has also taken on a shop unit adjoining the mill which allows her to display in surroundings that are slightly more intimate. I would say that 18 months ago 100 per cent of our sales were on eBay, said Rick Lowe-Jackson. We have tried to change the model and that is all been about improving margins, he said. At its peak, his firm was paying up to £3,500 in eBay and Paypal transaction fees. There is a lot of businesses that can survive on eBay, but not in lingerie, said Jacqui. It is a powerful marketing tool but from a profits perspective it is not sustainable.