Darren Pead - From Bakery to Blokey Bounty

A few years ago, retail enthusiast Darren Pead noticed a gap in the retail market and realised he could fill it. Two years, and approximately $1.35 million worth of sales later, it seems that he may have been right.

The market Darren identified was men’s gifts and the solution was Guy Stuff, a classy men’s gift and collectables business. With two stores now open in Sydney and another two being planned for 2009, Guy Stuff is also a thriving online store which sold 10 000 items in its first year alone.

Darren, who also has a passion for collecables believes there is a huge demand for shops specialising in men's gifts. "My main attraction is to retail, it just turned out that it was gifts and collectables, it was almost going to be bakeries.”

At Guy Stuff a customer is sure to find a suitable gift for any man. The stores sell everything from cuff links to bar accessories, model cars and planes to collectable pins and coins and much more. Stores are clean, bright and well set-out, appealing to men, women and children.

Setting him apart from many Australian retailers, Darren puts equal emphasis on his online store and retail shops, placing him in the 'Clicks and Mortar' category. Both online and in store are huge markets for Guy Stuff and both have their strengths and weaknesses. "Our retail shops are enjoyable to shop in and our products fun to buy, so I believe that over the next five to 10 years the retail shops are where the biggest opportunity exists," Darren explains.

Another thing setting the up-and-coming retailer apart is the lack of professional market research. Darren doesn't pay for 'market research' but instead, opts to listen to customers comments and suggestions; "Just about every decision we have made in Guy Stuff has been the direct result of talking to customers," he says.

The current financial crisis is making it hard for Darren to find investors for his growing business but, despite this, has bright plans for the future. "We hope to have a store within 20 minutes of the entire populations of Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Melbourne, Geelong, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast," Darren says. "I want Guy Stuff to be known as the best retail destination for men’s gifts and collectables in the country."

If all these plans come to fruition, a Guy Stuff store will be within 20 minutes drive of 80% of the entire Australian population.

http://www.guystuff.com.au/