Axminster Tools & Machinery has recently been listed in the top 100 ecommerce and cross-channel retailers as detailed in the Internet Retailing UK (IRUK) Top 500 report 2018, moving up two levels from the top 250 group where the company was placed in 2017. The company is now in the same group as well known brands such as Accessorize, Estee Lauder, Office and Pets at Home.

The IRUK research team has looked in depth at the UK’s leading ecommerce and cross-channel retailers, comparing and contrasting the capabilities of these top-level traders to see where and how the best retailers excel.

IRUK has taken an analytical approach that ranges across a number of performance dimensions. By doing this, IRUK aims to understand and learn from high-performing retailers what best practice is in this highly competitive market, and how it can best be fostered and encouraged in other businesses across the industry.

Axminster has attributed this latest result to a committed web, social media and digital and content creative teams. Dedicated customer service and logistics teams are strong, with the company averaging 9.7 out of 10 on Trustpilot. And with its eight stores across the UK, face-to-face retailing is a key factor in the company’s success.

Managing director Alan Styles commented: “The results of this research are of great interest to us. They are based on a set of criteria we’ve been focusing on and improved upon.”

 Mr Styles continued: “On sales and market penetration, we’ve had competitive pricing and excellent levels of service. These are verified through Trustpilot which is currently scoring us at 97% positive. We have a number of different types of customers ranging from business to trade to the hobby sector, so we‘ve been focusing on relevant content for our customers to increase engagement by providing information and videos on our website to help customers find solutions for their businesses or hobbies.

“Equally, quality remains very important. We are confident we have quality products and our product expertise is communicated through our trained sales team via webchat, by phone, in retail or through a field based team. With dynamic pricing and multiple stores, our brand has remained strong despite global turbulence and the uncertainty of Brexit. I think we should feel extremely encouraged to have moved up within just 12 months from the top 250 to the top 100.”