Happy Thursday blog readers!

I hope you are all having a fun, gadget-filled week. If not what are you waiting for – get snooping through this site.

I’m Ella by the way – the newest member of BBTradesales team. We may have locked eyes before as I’ve been lurking in the industry for some years now – sourcing cool gifts and gadgets for a funky online retailer, showing off quirky stuff to magazines in PR and jumping into the tellybox on a weekend to play with toys and gadgets. If you want to hear a bit more about me and our other new recruits – check out the article that Giftware Pro wrote about us.

So I’ve been here for three weeks so far and by here guys I mean on a farm. I AM NOT JOKING. I’m used to working in London so I am just loving hearing moos, clucking and crowing out of the window. I’ll pop up a snap of my favourite cow on Twitter for you to check out @BBTradesales – what shall I call her?

So HELLO from a be-wellied me. Drop us a line to order our cool kit sales@bbtradesales.com or give me a shout if you’ve got any great product ideas or would like to feature our stuff in your mags ella.williamson@bunkerbound.com . We’ll look after you – promise!

Have a great weekend and check out next week’s blog for the latest action on gadget farm aka BBTradesales.

Ella x

BBTradesales has beefed up its sales and marketing team as it looks to grow its gifts and gadgets business at home and abroad.

The company has revealed that former Mustard salesman Andrew Lamb has joined its team as national account manager, where he will look after UK and overseas customers. BBTradesales is hoping to expand into both the US and India this year.

 “It’s great to see the reactions to our innovative products, not only in the UK but internationally. The markets are varied so it’s important and also fascinating to get to know my customers’ business and the international market,” he said.

 Lamb spent three years at Mustard, where he was responsible for developing sales with the high street multiples.

He is joined at BBTradesales’ Buckinghamshire head office by Ella Williamson, who takes up the post of product marketing specialist.

 Williamson spent more than five years as a buyer for IWantOneOfThose.com, travelling the world to find the next best gadget, toy and lifestyle products.

 Her role will involve sourcing and developing new products and developing brand awareness among customers.

 “It is great to be able to experience the industry from the supplier side and really get stuck in with creating entirely new product ranges and showing them off,” she said.

 BBTradesales was founded in 2003 by self-confessed ‘big kid’ Ian Williams. His business initially started out as an eBay trading platform before growing into a leading of supplier of gifts and toys to more than 700 retailers.

 BBTradesales now employs over 30 members of staff and offers products such as the 1970s hit Bigtrak, the refillable perfume bottle Travalo, fairground-style Candy Grabbers and iMusic Pillows.

  -Gadget expert Ella Williamson joins expanding novelty gift and gadget supplier-

Buckinghamshire, 20^th September: This month innovative gift and gadget developer and supplier, BBTradesales, welcomed former Buyer from I Want One of Those Ltd and TV presenter Ella Williamson to its growing Marketing team. Ella joins the novelty gift, toy and lifestyle distributer as Product Marketing Specialist based in BBTradesales’ head office in the sprawling Buckinghamshire countryside.

Ella has worked in the gift and gadget industry since graduation from the University of Bristol in 2005. She spent over 5 years as a Buyer for one of the UK’s leading gift and gadget etailers, I Want One of Those Ltd, travelling the world to find the next best gadget, toy and lifestyle products. Ella then went on to specialise in consumer technology public relations at Beam PR Agency in Islington, London.

BBTradesales was a major supplier of I Want One of Those Ltd and Ella and the BBTradesales team worked closely together for 4 years. With Ella’s experience in product sourcing, public relations and of BBTradesales itself she was appointed the role of Product Marketing Specialist in September 2011. Her role includes sourcing and developing new products and developing brand awareness for the quickly expanding innovative distributor.

In addition to Ella’s ‘day job’ she has also spent the last 4.5 years as a TV presenter at the weekends. Ella has regularly presented the gadget review on BBC2’s Something for the Weekend with Tim Lovejoy for 4.5 years and has recently been appointed as the Kid’s Toy expert on the newly launched Argos TV Channel. In addition to television presenting Ella is also the gadget columnist for LOOK magazine and has been published in the Daily Mail, The Sun and Company magazine.

As a child Ella was always into gadgets, the more fun the better. She adds, “I was forever borrowing my brother’s electric car as a child, clocking up the fake milometer”. On her appointment to BBTradesales Ella comments, “I’m really enjoying my new role and I’m surrounded by cool toys and gadgets. It is great to be able to experience the industry from the supplier side and really get stuck in with creating entirely new product ranges and showing them off”.

-ENDS-

Contact details
For further information, interviews, images or videos please contact Ella Williamson on 07940 244599 or 01494 765626.

Website:
www.bbtradesales.com

Buckinghamshire, 20^th September 2011: Innovative gift and gadget developer and supplier, BBTradesales, was founded in 2003 by self-confessed “big kid” Ian Williams. What started out as an EBay trading platform in 2003 has now grown into a leading supplier of ingenious novelty toy, lifestyle and gift products to the High Street, online retailers and catalogue companies across the world with over 700 customers by 2011.

Ian, the Founder and Managing Director of BBTradesales, used his background in IT and Telecoms together with his passion for fun and gadgets to set-up BBTradesales from his Buckinghamshire bedroom. In 2003 trade started out on EBay but within months expanded to direct business to business supplying. In 2011 BBTradesales now employs over 30 members of staff, with its Head Office based in a spacious converted barn in the sprawling Buckinghamshire countryside.

BBTradesales is proud to be considered a front-runner in the gift and gadget supply industry and constantly strives to supply customers with the most innovative and entertaining products. The company is committed to product development and makes a significant investment in product design. In addition to in-house product designers, the company also employs top design agencies in order to offer its customers the most ingenious products. Bestsellers have included the 1970’s hit Bigtrak, the refillable perfume bottle Travalo, fairground-style Candy Grabbers and iMusic Pillows with much anticipation for the 2011/12 range stretching ahead with Dash II RC Boat, Calculator Watches, Knitted iMusic Hats and more.

BBTradesales are proud to supply top UK High Street, online and catalogue retailers with products attracting customers internationally too, with countries such as France, Germany, Czech Republic, South Africa and Australia stocking BBTradesales’ quirky ranges. In 2012 the company is looking to expand to U.S. and Indian territories.

The company travels all over the world for product inspiration – from Hong Kong, to London, from Paris to the local countryside pub where some of BBTradesales’ best ideas have arisen. The company and its entertaining ranges can be found at numerous trade fairs including Harrogate Home and Gift Show, Spring Fair International, Autumn Fair International, Hong Kong Gift Fair and Paris’ Trade Expo. BBTradesales recently unveiled a new look stand and website along with streamed product videos, new product ranges and packaging at Autumn Fair International 2011.

As a company BBTradesales is proud to have some great talent from the industry in the team with backgrounds in gift sales, retail buying, logistics and even TV presenting. Ian comments “at BBTradesales we move with the times and are committed to providing inventive products that are the right fit for our customers. Having a team with backgrounds from all different parts of the industry means we can best deliver what our customers are really after”.

-ENDS-

Contact details
For further information, interviews, images or videos please contact Ella Williamson on 07940 244599 or 01494 765626.

Website:
www.bbtradesales.com

Buckinghamshire, 15^th September: This summer innovative gift and gadget developer and supplier BBTradesales, welcomed experienced industry salesman Andrew Lamb from Mustard to its growing sales team. Andrew joins the quirky gift and gadget company as National Account Manager based in BBTradesales’ Head Office in the sprawling Buckinghamshire countryside.

Andrew has worked in the novelty gift and gadget industry since 2008, with his previous background in recruitment setting him up for a successful career in sales. Andrew joined Mustard in 2008 where he was responsible for developing business with the high street multiples. Andrew enjoyed being part of a sales team responsible for vastly growing the turnover of the business.

Over several years in the industry Andrew became familiar with BBTradesales and its team. Excited by BBTradesales’ vision he made the move to join the expanding developer and supplier. Customer service is extremely important to BBTradesales so, in addition to showcasing the quirky product ranges to new business opportunities, Andrew spends a great deal of time working with his existing customers ensuring that BBTradesales is offering them a product portfolio fitting to their retail customers. Andrew looks after UK and European territories. He comments, “it’s great to see the reactions to our innovative products not only in the UK but internationally too. The markets are varied so it’s important and also fascinating to get to know my customers’ business and the international market”.

From a young age Andrew has always been enthralled by gadgetry. As a child he was constantly programming his dad’s Bigtrak from the 1970’s. BBTradesales is a distruibutor of Bigtrak so needless to say the office sample is never more than a few feet from Andrew’s desk. Andrew states, “as a child I was always after the latest toy or gadget and was proud of my Back to the Future-style bedroom. Now I am married my wife thanks her lucky stars that she can pack me off to work for my gadget fix. Now if only I could drive there in a DeLorean Time Machine”.

-ENDS-

Contact details
For further information, interviews, images or videos please contact Ella Williamson on 07940 244599 or 01494 765626.

Website:
www.bbtradesales.com