A family-owned sports retailer based in Dundee is celebrating 20 years in business after undergoing significant growth.
Direct Soccer, which began trading in 1997 and moved online in 2002, sells a wide range of football kits, equipment and trophies, as well as offering a personalised print and embroidery service to football teams and individuals across the UK and Europe.
After reaching the £1 million turnover figure in 2011, the company moved into a purpose built facility to support its growth strategy which has already doubled in floor space and is due to expand again.
Husband and wife team Bryce and Joyce Gibson, who launched the business as general retail sports shop Sportstyle in 1997, had two additional shops by 2002.
But the key to growth going forward was to focus on online sales and that has been the root of their on-going success.
Joyce said: “Celebrating 20 years in business this year is a fantastic achievement and can be attributed to our great team, hard work and our ethos of investment and innovation.
“Originally we had three shops selling general sportswear and equipment but we felt that in order to grow and survive, we had to go online.
“We also decided to specialise in football kits for teams, whether it be schools, local youth clubs or amateur squads as our research showed there was demand for this throughout the country.
“Since embracing this change we have successfully grown the business and established a strong and growing customer base.
“Customer service is at the centre of our strategy and this is demonstrated by our exceptionally high retention rate of customers.
“Year on year we have achieved double digit growth, which has positioned us as one of the largest team wear specialists in the UK. Another achievement we’re very proud of.”
With ranges from leading brands including Nike, Adidas and Mitre and adding printing and embroidery services to its offering, the company now dispatches around 500 customer orders every week.
Bryce added: “We continually review all aspects of our business in conjunction with our staff and customers and do new things to keep on growing.
“We exceeded our £2 million turnover target last year and our growth projection is to achieve £5 million by 2020.
“The expansion of our high quality print and embroidery services and also the development and manufacture of our own branded footballs and equipment have all worked really well for us.
“Our increased sales have also enabled us to grow our team to 13 adding sales, operations, marketing and IT staff.”
