Online retailer started with £10 wins King's Award

An online business that began with only £10 has been recognised with a King's Award for enterprise in international trade.

Sol Retail, based in Northampton, was founded in 2012 by husband-and-wife team Barry and Katy Tong, and started by selling ornaments and DVDs on eBay. It is now ranked among the top 100 sellers on Amazon UK and the EU.

The King's Awards for Enterprise celebrate outstanding achievements by UK businesses.

Mr Tong, CEO of Sol Retail, said: "This award is a landmark, not just for Sol Retail, but for the vision and perseverance that's brought us here. When we started the business in a flat with £10... we never imagined we'd be where we are today."

The business started when Mr Tong had to clear his grandmother's bungalow after she had passed away.

His partner, now wife, Katy, suggested putting them items on eBay and the business began.

From there the company began selling more products online in the UK, and the overseas, with Mr Tong leaving his job in 2013 to work on the business full time.

Now Sol Retail supports health, beauty and wellness brands sell and market products online, as well as retailing its own items and now has sales of nearly £20m per year.

It sells products via Amazon across the world, as well as in Walmart in the US and other retailers in the UK including eBay.

Brands it works with include Ted Baker, Yardley and King of Shaves.

Alongside its commercial growth, Sol Retail donates to charities including Northampton-based Lewis Foundation, which provides gift packs to adult cancer patients in hospitals across Northamptonshire and the Midlands.

That includes giving over £500,000 in unwanted stock to the Lewis Foundation to sell in its shops.

Mr Tong added: "The King's Award for Enterprise recognises the passion, grit and innovative thinking that our team bring to the table every single day, and it marks just the beginning of our journey to £50 million and beyond."

Two other Northamptonshire firms also received the Kings Award: Enovation Consulting Ltd, a management agency in Silverstone, and Ziggurat XYZ Ltd, a talent and creative agency in Northampton.

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