Boys Stuff's mission is to escape boredom and drudgery through toys.
Clever and unusual toys and gadgets, backed by a company that wants
to treat people like they want to be treated.
The
idea for Boys Stuff was born in 1997 over a curry and several pints
of lager. Since those Curry and Lager days they have grown quite a bit.
At Boys Stuff they are on a mission to eradicate the things they hate
about some high street companies and the ridiculously high prices they
charge for the necessary accessories like batteries. Their aim is great
stuff at fair prices.
Check Boys Stuff's fantastic range of gadgets, cameras and bachelor
pad items.
Do the genteel inhabitants of Surrey really make better lovers than
the boys from the valleys? Are Highlanders the most gadget-loving people
in Britain?
Regional
stereotypes might have been in place since before the great vowel shift,
but sometimes there’s no denying that people living just one county
away can be world’s apart. How else can you explain the results
of a study conducted by the ever popular gadget and gift website, Boys
Stuff?
Using the e-Pandora software system developed in-house over at Boys Stuff’s headquarters, the team have been busy tracking the country’s gadget demographic – looking at what’s popular, where. The results have thrown up some intriguing differences between the regions.
The La-Z-Boy armchair (the same one that Joey and Chandler used to test their fast draw skills on Friends) comes with built-in fridge, phone and back massager, providing the ultimate in lazy luxury. Obviously Liverpudlians are too busy making the most of the new City of Culture to have any need for such an indolent recliner. Over in Luton, however, they’re really putting the Bed in Bedfordshire, buying over (x%) more La-Z-Boys than any other area.
The Omax and Orgasmatron vibrating back and head massagers may sell well in Jane Austin’s own county of Hampshire, but the Welsh are, surprisingly, having none of them. And nearly every region likes a game of Twister just before bedtime, except the Irish – the Twister duvet covers failing to excite the inhabitants of the Emerald Isle.
The citizens of the home counties of Surrey and Kent obviously enjoy their new fangled gadgetry with over (x%) of the super slim credit card camera sales coming from the area. While, up the road, Londoners are too caught up in the rat race to stop and take photos of the sights the Capital has to offer: they account for only x% of camera sales.
All that time spent in the seat of scholastic learning has left Oxfordians desperate to get into the tiny saddle of a MiniMoto Ducati Fila motorbike. But the Yorks and Lancastrians are once again at odds, with the Lancastrians seeking more MiniMoto thrills than the Pleasure Beach can offer, while the stoic lads of Yorkshire keep well away from the saddle.
But it’s the Scottish Highlands where Boys Stuff’s gadgets are pretty much universally popular; with the Scots responsible for a fair proportion of all sales. All sales, except the Robosapien robot, that is. Why the Highlanders didn’t fancy a fully programmable walking humanoid robot that can pick things up, dance, do Kung-Fu and perform so many other tricks, is anyone’s guess. Back in England with the Luton La-Z-boys, however, the snoring and belching robot is proving the perfect companion.
As Guy Clapson, MD of Boys Stuff explains, “the e-Pandora software was developed to make selling our products as efficient and automated as possible. However, it’s also meant we can have some fun finding out what makes certain areas tick.” And he’s as intrigued with the results as the rest of us. “Some of the results have been truly strange, and we’re still trying to fathom a few of them out. We’re not sure why the Welsh don’t like the Orgasmatron, or why people living in Bedfordshire love their La-Z-Boys so much. But it seems that people in different regions really do think differently from their neighbours.”
ROBOSAPIEN
Taking over the world is no easy task and Robosapien
will need more than personality and humanoid intelligence to do it.
Queue baby bot, a smaller, lighter and more manoeuvrable replica of
the original. Unlike his master this little fella is unable to perform
all of the same tricks, so it is certain that apart from the cute-stakes
Robosapien 1 is still and always will be the Daddy.
Despite their plans for world robo-domination Boysstuff feel it would be cruel to split the pair so whenever you buy one full sized friend his little brother will come absolutely free. Just be careful when you leave them alone . . . remember Toy Story . .
As for the boys stuff, loyal customers can look forward to a fantastic selection of the latest and greatest products - from the Must Have robot of the year to ridiculously large remote control planes to Boys Stuffs exclusive range of weird and wonderful, fun packed summer products and gifts.
Guy Clapson, Head of Retail, for both Boys Stuff and Girls Stuff comments, " The Girls Stuff brand will mirror the brand values we have created for Boys Stuff, whilst proving to have its own distinct personality. Boys Stuff is about exclusivity, innovation, quality and most importantly, its about fun - these are the values were passing on to the Girls Stuff brand.
Guy continues, "As obvious as it might sound, what were doing is creating a site and catalogue that provides products for girls - but its not solely targeting a female audience. Were anticipating that the customers will be split 50/50, with girls purchasing for themselves and lads finding inspiration for their ladys gifts".
The Boys & Girls Stuff A5 sized catalogue will begin distribution during March, and be hitting the doormats of nearly one million customers throughout the UK.
Guy says, "We feel that the new catalogue is our strongest yet. As with all businesses were constantly learning from experiences and applying that knowledge to improve our offering. The new catalogue has a whole range of great new products and well be closely monitoring the initial response to Girls Stuff. He continues, " Its an exciting time for the group and were looking forward to building both brands significantly this year"
Glory
for Boys Stuff at the ECMOD 2003 Awards - 19/11/2003
The Boys Stuff team are delighted to announce their success at the mail
order industrys most prestigious awards ceremony. Boys Stuff are now
the proud winners of a European Catalogue and Mail Order Days (ECMOD)
2003 Award.
Since their inception in 1990, the ECMOD awards have become universally accepted as the benchmark for catalogue and mail order success. Sector experts from the UK, USA and Europe select a handful of companies from literally hundreds of entries for their final nomination shortlist. After making this shortlist in their first year of entry in 2002, Boys Stuff are delighted to announce their receipt of the 2003 Best Catalogue Makeover Award.
Just
to be nominated for an ECMOD Award in 2002 - our first year of entry
- was honour enough. So to win this year is a major success and a genuine
thrill for everyone at Boys Stuff. The calibre of the other names on
the nomination shortlist, including Scotts of Stow, Charles Tyrwhitt,
Avon Cosmetics and Laura Ashley, emphasises the respect and prestige
the ECMOD awards are held in within the mail order industry. We wont
be resting on our laurels though - the entire team will be working harder
than ever to repeat this success in 2004!
Richard North, Managing Director
Over
800 representatives of the industry from across Europe attended the
glittering awards ceremony, hosted by comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor, at
Earls Court on November 20th. Boys Stuffs success at the awards comes
in a year that has seen a 500% increase in the Boys Stuff catalogue
mail-out to circa 1.6m/year, the receipt of an Internet Magazine award
for Best Gadget Company and the recent acquisition of the Gadgets.com
brand.
www.boysstuff.co.uk is the UKs best online gadgets and toys store. Thats
the opinion of Internet Magazines Secret Shopper in a recent test.
Secret Shopper is a regular feature of Web bible Internet Magazine. Seven leading gadgets and toys sites were tested anonymously by reporter Kim Gilmour, and the results show Boys Stuff as a clear winner. Praised for professional, swift service and great prices, with an A+ for super-fast delivery, www.boysstuff.co.uk was the only site tested to achieve the maximum 5 Star Rating.
Obviously
were delighted with the results of the Secret Shopper test. To receive
such high praise from Internet Magazine, one of the industrys most respected
publications, is fantastic, but knowing it comes from a customers point
of view is especially pleasing. We constantly strive to enhance and
improve customer service and have invested significantly in training
and increasing staff levels over the last 12 months. Its fantastic to
have such positive proof that our measures have been successful.
Guy Clapson, Business Manager
As well as being the fastest to deliver of all the companies tested, Boys Stuff were also praised for their lower than average prices, order tracking facility and personal touches, such as the delivery note from the company MD. Summing up, Internet Magazine says Boys Stuff deliver the goods in every sense.
Boys Stuff are also ready to respond to the one criticism of the site - that the range of products appealing to women is limited. 2004 will see the launch of www.girlsstuff.co.uk, a new website with a wide range of female orientated gifts, run on the same principles that have made Boys Stuff the countrys top gadget site. Watch this space!
September 2003 - 15/09/2003
Boys Stuff Launch New Autumn/Winter Brochure
The launch of the Boys Stuff Spring/Summer brochure was perhaps the companys biggest marketing gamble yet, with dramatic changes to the size, layout and company colour scheme. But if endorsement of these changes was needed, customer feedback has provided more than enough:
Love the new brochure - looks great. Reckon this has some of your best toys yet! - Richard Green
Its brilliant - 10 out of 10! - Gemma Goudaillier
Great gifts, Great witty punchlines - Justine
Thanks for the laughs and for not being stuffy. Makes a fab change - Julie Millward
The brochure is clear, well set-out and humorous - Jaq Singh
Just received the new brochure and Im very impressed. Much prefer the new size - easy to slip in your briefcase or whatever. Like the new colour scheme too! - Andy Dartmouth
Average customer rating of brochure through Tell the Boss - 9.45 out of 10
The Boys Stuff team have taken this positive feedback on board to make the Autumn/Winter brochure an even bigger success. Recognised by leading mens lifestyle magazines as the ultimate Christmas wish-list, it features over 120 brand new products, including 2003s biggest must-have, the Twister Duvet Cover.
Keen to continue the innovation begun with the Spring/Summer brochure, Boys Stuff consulted with some of the biggest and most successful names in the mail order industry for pre-production advice on the Autumn/Winter brochure. Business Development Manager Guy Clapson explains:
We
set ourselves the task of utilising the many tips and techniques picked
up from ECMOD and various brochure workshops throughout the year. Having
worked closely with expert brochure consultant Ray Morris-Hill and mail
order guru Nigel Swabey, we have incorporated their analytical approach
into the testing and measuring of all our mailings from summer onwards.
Armed with this information, we have increased our Xmas mailing to 1m
for winter 03 - an increase of almost 1000%! Weve also targeted our
mailing much more specifically, and have produced no less than four
different versions of the brochure to suit various customer bases. If
forecasts prove correct, we could easily be sending our brochure out
to treble the people this time next year!