老九品茶

Colin Stevens turns 40 in July and he鈥檚 got his mojo back.

The award-winning entrepreneur recently bought a showroom in his hometown of Wigan for his new business We Love.

We Love is a bathrooms, tiles and home shopping retailer selling online welove.co.uk or in its large showroom in Wigan.

Despite COVID-19, which has forced the temporary closure of his showroom, Stevens predicts the company will reach 拢2m turnover in its first year of business after the pandemic.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got big plans for We Love,鈥� said Stevens. 鈥淲e grew BetterBathrooms to 500 staff and I鈥檇 like to do the same with We Love. There鈥檚 no reason why we shouldn鈥檛. It does get to me that so many jobs and careers were destroyed. I use this feeling as motivation, it really drives me.鈥�

If all this sounds familiar then it should. Stevens is best known as the man who founded BetterBathrooms at the age of 21 in 2001, went on to win 21 awards, accepted significant investment from 老九品茶 Growth Fund but left in November 2017after a boardroom revolt.

The business went in administration 18 months later and Stevens has never spoken publicly about what happened 鈥� and doesn鈥檛 intend to go into detail now.

However, what鈥檚 clear is that Stevens is a different man from the person who exited BetterBathrooms four years after selling a 30 per cent stake to the 老九品茶 Growth Fund (BGF) in 2013 for 拢10m.

鈥淎fter coming through an ordeal like I did at BettterBathrooms it鈥檚 fair to say my confidence wasn鈥檛 where it should have been,鈥� he admitted.

鈥淚n a strange way seeing the demise of BetterBathrooms after I left was a confidence booster. Growing from bedroom to 拢30m and then to 拢60m with investment, to administration just 18 months after I left tells its own story. I tried to buy it back, but we fell short.

鈥淭he way I look at it now BetterBathrooms was the best teaching I could have had. I could have sat still and done nothing but that鈥檚 not me. I feel like I鈥檓 back and that the best is yet to come.鈥�

As well as We Love, Stevens is involved in a series of successful eCommerce businesses but to understand his business philosophy we need to understand his first love – BetterBathrooms.

A proud Wiganer, Stevens left school at the age of 16 to play golf and try and emulate his hero Nick Faldo. To make ends meet he would sell golf gear before embracing eBay and selling it through that.

Stevens realised that he wasn鈥檛 good enough to become a professional golfer when a chance conversation with his mum changed the direction of his life.

鈥淪he asked how my business selling golf equipment was doing and I said it was going really well until my supplier ran out of stock,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淪he worked for a tap company in Yorkshire and said 鈥榳hy don鈥檛 you try selling taps?鈥� I looked at her and I thought 鈥榳ho wants to sell taps?’鈥�

Willing to give it a go, he bought a tap for 拢62 and sold it for 拢189 within 24 hours of listing it on eBay and BetterBathrooms was born. He launched it from a back bedroom in 2001 and by 2007 it was turning over 拢1m. It was a compelling story.

As the growth continued at BetterBathrooms, investors started showing interest and Stevens sold a 30 per cent slice of the business to 老九品茶 Growth Fund for 拢10m, turning the entrepreneur into a millionaire.

Stevens looked at buying several sports cars but opted to buy 38 properties in Wigan, giving him a bigger rental income from his houses than his BetterBathrooms鈥� salary.

The business won a clutch of awards and expanded under their CEO鈥檚 mantra: 鈥淒on鈥檛 follow the pack 鈥� look past what everyone else is doing.鈥�

Stevens鈥� ambition was to hit 拢100m turnover within two years and 拢200m within five years. There was even talk of reaching 拢500m and Wolseley, the FTSE 100 building materials group, was reported to be considering a 拢100m bid for Better Bathrooms. The company quickly issued a statement to say it wasn鈥檛 for sale, although there were even rumours of a possible float.

BGF invested an additional 拢8m in follow-up funding although they still had a minority stake in the business.

In October 2017 Stevens told BetterBathrooms鈥� annual management strategy meeting that the company had been making monthly profits in the previous five months of between 拢200k and 拢350k.

However the feel-good factor came to an abrupt end at a board meeting in November 2017. Although Stevens and his dad Peter owned more than 60 per cent of the business, the board鈥檚 constitution meant they could be voted off with a simple majority – and that鈥檚 what happened. The young Stevens went first and his dad followed three months later.

Stevens鈥� mum and sister, who both worked for BetterBathrooms, were made redundant within two months of the board meeting of January 2018.

Things didn鈥檛 improve after Stevens left and on March 1st 2019, administrators were called in.

Stevens regrets the initial decision to ever take on outward investment.

鈥淚 was full of anxiety at the end with lots of regrets, especially about taking the investment,鈥� he said.

鈥淚鈥檝e kept quiet, on legal advice, and I won鈥檛 be saying anything now. It was a bit of a nightmare but life moves on.鈥�

Today Stevens has multiple business interests. He鈥檚 the CEO of rawsport.com and Revolution Foods, which describes itself as a vegan, dairy-free, soy-free and gluten-free alternative. The website describes itself as a premium-based sports nutrition suitable for sports enthusiasts.

鈥淲ithin a year of starting our profits had doubled,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 switched to a direct-to-consumer model. It鈥檚 now been sold to 57 countries.鈥�

He also founded CBDSport.com, a market which is predicted to reach 拢1bn inside five years.

鈥淲e鈥檝e raised 拢1m for We Love and bought the 20,000 sq ft site store in Wallgate, Wigan, at the start of COVID-19, which is amazing. The entire family is involved and also some ex-staff members from BetterBathrooms,鈥� he said.

We Love opened its doors in December 2019, just before COVID-19 hit the UK.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had to close our store because of COVID-19 but we鈥檙e predominately an online model,鈥� said Stevens. “I started BetterBathrooms before the recession and I believe We Love will grow fast after the pandemic.

“It was a strange moment deciding to buy a store to close it down: I had 24 hours to make the decision or we would lose the property. I have a lot of confidence and I believe in taking big steps to make things happen.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt that the high street will suffer and jobs will be lost but I鈥檓 an optimist and all entrepreneurs see opportunities. I鈥檓 no different. I鈥檓 actually very excited about life after COVID-19.

鈥淚n five-10 years from now I see myself with a fund at my disposal which I鈥檒l invest in entrepreneurs and SMEs because I think the current PE/VC model is broken. A story for another time.”