Welcome to 60 seconds with... where we interview a great business every month.
This month, we met with MH Star UK's Area General Manager, Arvind Panchmatia to get the low-down on his best business advice and highlights in a minute or less!
PP: In your own words, can you tell us a bit about your business please?
Arvind Panchmatia (AP):
Aosom UK is the trading name for MH Star. We offer a wide range of high quality Home and Garden products at competitively low prices.
PP: How would you describe your customers?
AP: We have a wide range of customers as we have such a wide range of items and prices.
PP: What’s been your biggest highlight since starting your business?
AP: Our different brands. Over the past 5 years we have worked hard to build our garden brand; ‘Outsunny’, our home brand ‘Homcom’ and our pet brand ‘Pawhut’.
PP: What would you say is the one thing your business couldn’t function without?
Our people. We have a wide range of staff experiences, which has helped us build our business. We believe having staff who understand the customer journey from search to purchase has enabled us to build the brand and establish trust.
PP: How has the growth of mobile impacted your business?
AP: We have seen sales on mobile go up 200% year on year. This is down to many factors but mainly down to having Aosom.co.uk mobile-ready and being able to offer the latest in payment gateways. You can have the best site in the world, but it won't matter if your customers get frustrated if they are forced to enter a lot of details when they are on the go.
PP: What is your favourite thing about using PayPal?
AP: PayPal Express Checkout because it has made life easy for our customers. Customers want to buy without the hassle of entering details all the time. The PayPal logo also helps to establish trust with our customers.
PP: If you were to give one piece of advice to other businesses, what would it be?
AP: The key is to build your customer base with great customer service. Sounds easy but this can only be done if it is a core value of your business. Customers will return due to great customer service more so than just cheap prices.
PP: Finally, if you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you take with you?
AP: A lighter to make a lovely fire, garden furniture to relax in the sun and a picture of my family.
PP: Thanks for joining us for 60 seconds Arvind.
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