The CEO of a fast-growing UK sports e-tailer claims the internet is the perfect medium for agile retailers to flourish and prosper.
Commenting on a recent survey by The Boston Consulting Group commissioned by Google, which revealed the internet industry was the fifth-largest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product, Mike Thornhill of Activinstinct explains: “It is true that small and medium-sized e-tailers have seen their orders and turnover continue to rise recently, and we have grown even faster than the figures noted in the BCG report.
“Our forecasts suggest we will continue to grow even more strongly, especially in the run-up to Christmas.”
Thornhill believes small and medium-sized online retailers are nimble and light-footed enough to exploit industry trends, which enables them to occupy important trading niches.
Thornhill says: “When I hold a mirror up to the report, I see our company in its reflection.
“I do believe that SMEs, ourselves and our competitors, are the turbines of this country’s internet economy.
“We are cornerstones of an economy being reshaped by our own industry’s enterprise.
“As we become more important contributors to the nation’s financial well-being we will, as private sector innovators, help take up the slack left by a retreating state, hence the Prime Minister and the Small Business Minister backing SMEs with recent statements.
“The brave new digital age has well and truly arrived, and it brings in its wake immense benefits to Britain’s economy.”
Under Thornhill, sales at Activinstinct have grown from £2.1million in 2006 to £6.1million in 2009.
