Christian Robinson, the MD of gadget retail website Firebox.com, has said that his site has had to move on from the boom of radio controlled helicopters that were all the rage last year. Last Christmas, the RC helicopter was one of the most sought after products on Firebox, but this year they’ve had to move on to another trend because of the competition.
Other retail websites and high street retailers have been selling the cheaper, indoor RC helicopters for much less than Firebox were selling them for, meaning that Firebox doesn’t expect to sell as many RC helicopters this Christmas. Add to that the problems at competitors such as the Gadget Shop (which recently closed) and the ownership change at Boys Stuff and the biggest player in the game, IwantOneofThose.com.
Christian Robinson is optimistic for Firebox though, despite the current credit crunch.
Consumer electronics items are proving very popular. You’d think in a downturn that it would be cheaper products but it’s more about people investing in goods to stay at home with.
Last year Robinson said was:
The year of the radio controlled helicopter when we did £1 million in sales.
However this year Firebox are having to look for a new gadget to be their big seller, as cheap radio controlled helicopters are available on other websites.
But since then the supermarkets started flogging them at very low margins and Firebox.com has moved onto the next trend.