Scandinavia next in M and M Euro drive

Last week, it launched its site to the European market, allowing customers in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Republic of Ireland, France and Monaco to buy goods in local currency.

M and M Direct chief executive Steve Robinson said that he expects countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark to have access to the site by the end of the year.

Although M and M Direct has taken orders from abroad before, from countries as far as Australia, they were only ever by phone. “I think that because sterling is so weak against the euro now, our euro offer is coming in a bit cheaper. This is an extra reason to shop with us.”

Although Robinson believes the strategy will be successful, he added: “This is certainly not the only thing we are looking at to grow the business.”

In its full year to February, sales rocketed 29 per cent to £95m. EBITDA was more than £12m.

Robinson said that summer trading has started well, as people look to M and M to buy clothes for holidays. The e-tailer now has more than 1 million active users.

“We are not immune to the downturn, as some of our customers have lost their jobs, but this has been offset by people coming to us because it is good value for money,” he said. 

Ted’s Shed – the discount site that M and M Direct launched for Ted Baker – has performed “to plan”, according to Robinson. He said he will look at doing similar offers for other retailers.

Robinson said he was not unduly concerned about other discount sites, such as JD Sports Fashion’s Get the Label, encroaching on his business. He said: “I would be a fool if I did not keep my eye on what people were doing, but we have done this for 21 years and it is not an easy thing to do.”