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Retail Week Awards 2010

March 11, 2010 | eSpares Updates | 1 comment

It’s now nearly a week since the biggest night of the retail calendar and I’m only just getting over it. We were short-listed for the Best Online Retailer gong, so we donned our DJs and best frocks and headed up to the West End for a lavish bash at the Grosvenor House Hotel. All of the leading figures from the UK retail sector were there and a good night was had by all.

Jeremy Vine was the somewhat surprising choice as host for the evening. However, we were treated to the irreverent sounds of Tim Minchin on the piano. His performance of Canvas Bags was a joy to behold. The somewhat confused looks from some in the audience just added to the enjoyment.

Unfortunately, we didn’t walk away with Best Online Retailer award – Amazon were the worthy winners on the night. Although a bit disappointed, we are nonetheless honoured to be shortlisted alongside such illustrious online retailers. The full list of finalists for Best Online Retailer was:

Amazon
Argos
Asos
eSpares
N Brown Group
New Look
Shop Direct Group
Tesco

The Retail Leader of the Year award went to Britain’s best grocer, Mark Price from Waitrose. Mark has been with the John Lewis Partnership since 1982 and is now MD at Waitrose. Very well deserved.

But the big winner of the evening was Primark and its founder Arthur Ryan. Primark took the Retailer of the Year award and Mr Ryan was honoured for his outstanding contribution to retail. Making what was described as his first ever public appearance, the septuagenarian accepted his award following a video tribute from Sir Philip Green. Retail Week’s editor, Tim Danaher, said: “Primark has transformed fashion retailing over the past decade, and that’s all down to the vision of Arthur Ryan.”

Snow And Trees

How The Web Keeps Products Going For Longer

March 11, 2010 | eSpares Updates  |  Kitchen Appliances Repair, Help & Advice | No comments

Undeniably as a company we love it when eSpares gets name checked in a blog, who wouldn’t? Aside from the mention I enjoyed the recent blog post by @robram, because he highlights how the web keeps products going for longer. The post explains how Rob used the resources available online to diagnose and fix the broken door lock on his dishwasher. The Internet allowed Rob to fix his dishwasher himself, spending only £10 and 30 minutes of his time.

I personally love stories where people empower themselves via information gleaned from the Internet. Whether it be learning to play the ukulele from MusicTeacher2009 on YouTube or using the 367 recipe reviews for Chocolate Stout Cake to pimp out your baking and create a thing of beauty.

Rob Mansfield, I salute you for fixing your dishwasher yourself. Long live the Internet!

Happy Fathers Day Cupcake

2 Minute Interview With…

March 10, 2010 | eSpares Updates | No comments

Name: Tofik Saad

Job title: Customer Support Supervisor

Length of time at eSpares?
6 or 7 years, not sure

Most recent CD purchase/download?

Paolo Nutini – Sunny Side Up

Favourite TV shows?

Family Guy, Scrubs, Black Books, Heroes, Bottom, 24, Boston Legal

Worst habit?

Bacon

What stresses you out?

QPR losing games, so I’m stressed all the time

What do you do to relax?

Listen to classical music, jog, sit on Brighton Beach

Why are we here?

To enjoy the journey

Who is your role model?

Muhammad Ali

Is there anyone you’d like to fight?

Cilla Black (my arch nemesis) and the whole cast of Hollyoaks (past and present)

What are you up to this weekend?

My dissertation (boring)

You’re in a time-machine – where would you go?

Japan, Samurai era

Is it you that makes a mess in the Unit 21 kitchen?

Me! Never! I have a warrant out for the culprit. There is a reward don’t you know?

Favourite spare part, including ES number?

Fridge lower bottle shelf ES478390

Funniest thing that has happened to you at work?

When doing a cheque order we have to give the customer our address so that they can send their cheque. I took a call for an old aged pensioner, who had difficulty hearing. So the first line of the address, which is eSpares Ltd, took 10 minutes for the customer to spell correctly. Then the rest of the address took another 25 minutes (Unit 13-14 Chelsea Wharf, 15 Lots Road, London SW10 0QJ). She then asked me for my name, which to my surprise the customer couldn’t spell but was adamant that she would take it, so that took another 10 minutes for her to jot down. And it was only for an order that was under £10 but we both laughed at the situation.

Ideal holiday scenario?

On a beach and it’s 35C in the shade

What are your chances of winning the eSpares bowling competition tonight?

No chance [And he didn’t]

Who do you want to be interviewed next?

Lloyd [our Business Development Manager]

When It’s Time For a New Appliance, It’s Time For Appliances Online

March 9, 2010 | Uncategorized | No comments

Although our business model is based on you mending your existing appliances to get them working properly; we fully recognise that all appliances come to the end of their life at some point. If you are shopping for new appliances online I would recommend that you have a look at the Appliances Online website.

Here’s why I recommend them for your next appliance purchase:

  • From a functionality perspective their website instills trust. It’s easy to navigate and the product descriptions are clear and accurate.
  • Appliances Online encourage customers to rate the products they purchase. This means that you can get the real story on that new cooker you wish to purchase from someone who uses it every day.
  • They’ll price match if you find the item elsewhere cheaper and they’ve got a ‘no fuss’ 10 day returns guarantee.
  • They only charge £9.99 to recycle your old appliance. Make sure to check out the full details of their appliance recycling scheme.
  • If you have any questions for them Appliances Online are on Twitter.

I’d like to be clear in stating that eSpares has no commercial agreement with Appliances Online to promote their website. We truly like their website and have heard great things about them from our customers who have decided that it was time to buy new.

Winners' Dinners…

March 4, 2010 | eSpares Updates | No comments

And so I find myself preparing my first contribution to the new eSpares blog with heavy eyes, a headache and a general sense of weariness. Alas, last night I overindulged and today I am paying in kind. There is, however, a good reason for my sorry state today; last night, I went to the Econsultancy Innovation Awards Winners’ Dinner to collect the Most Innovative Digital Marketing Team Award. Now, I’ve never been to anything even remotely awards-related before. The closest I’ve come is watching the 2005 Brit Awards on TV, so it was with slight trepidation that I accepted the invitation to collect the award on eSpares’ behalf. My uncertainty was compounded when I found out the do was being hosted at the Park Lane Hotel – a place so swanky I thought I mightn’t even be allowed in.

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Winners’ Dinners…

March 4, 2010 | Uncategorized | No comments

And so I find myself preparing my first contribution to the new eSpares blog with heavy eyes, a headache and a general sense of weariness. Alas, last night I overindulged and today I am paying in kind. There is, however, a good reason for my sorry state today; last night, I went to the Econsultancy Innovation Awards Winners’ Dinner to collect the Most Innovative Digital Marketing Team Award. Now, I’ve never been to anything even remotely awards-related before. The closest I’ve come is watching the 2005 Brit Awards on TV, so it was with slight trepidation that I accepted the invitation to collect the award on eSpares’ behalf. My uncertainty was compounded when I found out the do was being hosted at the Park Lane Hotel – a place so swanky I thought I mightn’t even be allowed in.

My initial reservations proved to be unfounded (apart from an encounter with a menu that had words I didn’t understand on it – piperade? Magret?), and it turned out to be a wonderful evening. Esme, our designer, and I mixed and mingled with fellow victors, as well as chatting to a few of the very nice people at Econsultancy.Of course, that brings me back to my earth shattering hangover – spirits were high and the wine flowed like, well, wine. A good night was had by all; I suppose it’s a shame it had to end.

Haircut For Charity Causes

Haircut for Charity

March 2, 2010 | Charity News | No comments

As we’ve got a massive website and quite a large digital marketing presence it’s easy to think that there’s a huge team that runs eSpares. Truth be told we only have 70 people on our team and in relative terms we’re actually quite a small company. In that respect we find it remarkable that we’ve been able to achieve such accolades as being nominated for the Etailer of the Year against the likes of Marks and Spencers, Argos and Ocado.

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About this blog

February 26, 2010 | eSpares Updates |

Even we’ve got to admit that spare parts are slightly dull. So you won’t see us writing about how passionate we are about appliances spares or how we take parts very seriously. What gets us excited is our customers. We work nonstop for them making our website better, keeping our product descriptions unparalleled, shooting ‘how to’ videos, answering the thousands of questions they leave on our website and having a smooth delivery process. The purpose of this blog is to document the adventures of a small company trying to make it big by making fitting appliance spares slightly less dull.

Blog contributors

David Duffett – IT Director. Brains of the operation.

Matt Henton – Marketing Director. Big cheese, head honcho.

Mike Hodge – Web Analytics Manager. Number cruncher and Karcher aficionado.

Rory Dunne – Community Manager. Avant-garde spare part agony uncle.

Gabe Sosa – Video Manager. Shoot. Edit. Repeat.

Esmé Taljaard – Designer. Makes stuff look good.


Where to find eSpares

Our homepage: www.espares.co.uk

On Twitter: www.twitter.com/espares

On YouTube: www.youtube.com/esparesvideo

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/fixityourself

Easy Peasy Cleaning In Your House

Hack things better with Sugru

February 26, 2010 | DIY & Home Improvement | No comments

Sugru is a really cool new product that I’ve been boring my colleagues about for a couple of months now. It’s a silcone moulding clay/glue that you can shape to fit more or less anything. It sticks to most things, cures overnight and is flexible, durable and heat resistant. It’s one of those things that you can’t quite believe hadn’t already been invented.

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About this blog

February 26, 2010 | Uncategorized |

Even we’ve got to admit that spare parts are slightly dull. So you won’t see us writing about how passionate we are about appliances spares or how we take parts very seriously. What gets us excited is our customers. We work nonstop for them making our website better, keeping our product descriptions unparalleled, shooting ‘how to’ videos, answering the thousands of questions they leave on our website and having a smooth delivery process. The purpose of this blog is to document the adventures of a small company trying to make it big by making fitting appliance spares slightly less dull.

Read more