Britain may be entering a period of Brexit-induced uncertainty, but confidence amongst small and medium-sized enterprises is on the rise, along with their growth forecasts.
Driving this tide of optimism is a determination to find fresh opportunities in overseas countries. With the support of Amazon’s digital tools and support services, growing numbers of SMEs are growing their sales in the UK and abroad.
Acknowledged as the engine of economic growth and innovators of new products and services, SMEs are also at the heart of Amazon’s business model, accounting for half of all global sales units.
Speaking at the recent Amazon Academy in Manchester, Simon Johnson, UK director of Amazon Marketplace, said: “Currently more than 60% of UK businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace are exporting to customers outside the UK.”
In Manchester alone there are more than 7,000 businesses selling through Amazon Marketplace. These include Love2Sleep, a multimillion pound company that sells bedding from its Manchester base to customers all over the world, and RDX, that has expanded to become a leading manufacturer of boxing equipment in the UK, Europe and the US.
The Light Factory is another local firm that started out in 2010 with a handful of staff in a borrowed warehouse in Salford. Today it exports light fittings to over 25 countries, employing more than 70 staff with export revenue up 40% year on year on Amazon.
“SMEs are crucial to the UK economy, as they grow their sales and create jobs,” said Johnson. “Last year, businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace achieved export sales of £1.8bn, up 29% year on year.”
The encouraging figures reflect a rising sense of optimism among SMEs elsewhere in the UK, as revealed in the latest SME Growth Tracker report by Capital Economics, commissioned by Amazon UK and Enterprise Nation.
It found that UK SMEs have raised their revenue growth projections for the third quarter in a row, and are now forecasting +2.3% revenue growth for the coming 12 months. The report also revealed an upturn in business confidence, with the SME Confidence Index score for business leaders’ own companies turning positive, up to +3 in Q1 from -4 in Q4 last year.
Across the regions, SMEs in the northeast were expecting the sharpest improvement in business conditions for their own companies over the next 12 months, with an SME confidence index score of +11, well above the national average.
“In spite of growing concerns about the wider UK economy, business confidence amongst SMEs has increased in the last quarter, with those based in the north west of England particularly positive about the future of their business,” said Johnson.
Amazon has invested billions of pounds in its UK operations over the last seven years, including developing new tools and services designed to boost sellers’ overseas sales. Amazon also offers SMEs support with challenges such as managing currency exchange, translation, local marketing and global shipment to enable SMEs to boost their export plans.
This has not gone unnoticed by the Government, with international trade secretary Dr Liam Fox describing Amazon Marketplace as a great way for UK businesses to increase their exports and grow their businesses.
The Government’s digital exporting hub, GREAT.gov.uk, also offers links to tools and guidance to help SMEs tap into new global export markets.
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