Business is bright for Leeds ecommerce startup

A Leeds-based ecommerce business that started out selling vintage lightbulbs on eBay has announced its half year financial results, revealing it is set to reach the £1m annual turnover milestone in its second year of business.

Dowsing & Reynolds, a design-led interiors company launched by James Dowsing-Reynolds in 2013, has now achieved £416k turnover in the period March – September 2015.

The company now firmly on track to surpass £1m by the end of the year with a record-breaking month in October (£113k) and its busiest time of year ahead.

During this financial year, the company has taken on six new employees and relocated to larger premises on Mabgate, near Leeds city centre. Dowsing & Reynold now employ a team of nine, with plans to take on more new staff in the coming year.

James said: “To hit the £1m annual turnover mark in only our second year will be a massive achievement for us as a young business and pushes us into that next phase of growth. Forecasted sales have never been stronger.

“It started with a lightbulb moment to sell vintage bulbs, and now we’ve expanded the range to offer the full spectrum of design-led, affordable lighting products and diversified into other fashionable home décor items you won’t find on the high street. It’s working – we now export to 33 countries worldwide and receive over 100,000 hits on our website a month.”

Dowsing & Reynolds was born when James met wife Ally, a digital expert who is now marketing director for the company.

Since starting the company two years ago, Dowsing & Reynolds has sold over 40,000 lightbulbs and supplied 600 of them for a One Direction performance on last year’s X Factor, seen by a worldwide audience.

The company sells to consumers and commercial audiences via its own ecommerce website, Not On The High Street, eBay and Amazon.

James concluded: “Our customers use lighting as design for the room, rather than a necessity. As a nation increasingly obsessed with making our homes look better and not having what everyone else has got, Dowsing & Reynolds has a huge opportunity to grow further because we originated that mix and match, bespoke lighting offer and we’ll never stop looking for the next thing. We’re looking forward to the next year in business.”