Comet, the electrical retailer that collapsed in 2012, has been relaunched as an online marketplace by entrepreneur Cas Paton, who has invested £10m in the launch.
The new Comet will list more than one million products from 2,500 sellers, from TVs and washing machines to mobiles, computers and gadgets. It will trade online only and will not sell its own stock.
Paton, 42, the founder of online marketplace OnBuy, bought the brand, which went into liquidation in 2012. He believes Comet could eventually become a business worth between £250m and £500m.
Under the model, Comet acts as a platform for third-party sellers rather than as a retailer in its own right.
“Every sale that’s made on Comet is a sale for another retailer,” Paton said. “We’re a friend of the retailers. We’re here to attract customers, build trust and give customers choice.”
Paton believes there is room for a specialist electrical marketplace alongside the online giants, and said he was relishing bringing “some competition back to the market”.
He said the site would stick to electricals. “While we’re not going to give people the same in-store feeling that we once had, at least customers know when they go to Comet it’s a site that really caters only for those products. You won’t find furniture or clothing.”
Although the business will trade online, Paton is exploring click-and-collect partnerships that could return the Comet name to the high street.
“I want Comet to be able to connect to stores again,” he said. “We’re exploring a few options that might put Comet’s name back on a few buildings.”
Founded in 1933, Comet became one of Britain’s best-known electrical retailers before its collapse. The relaunch brings back its black and orange branding. Paton rejected a later rebrand, which he believes lost some of the connection with customers.
“It was non-negotiable that we went live with the brand everyone actually remembered,” he said. “Comet is a brand that has such a positive impression on so many people.”
Paton recalled visiting Comet’s Trafford Park store in Manchester as a boy with his late father, Nigel. “I remember being a very young boy and going into Comet and just being so excited by the potential of all this new technology,” he said.
He argued that the relaunch was well timed despite pressure on household budgets. “The market is really tough. Money is really tight,” he said. “But people still need a kettle. They still need a toaster. They still want a TV.
“If we can help people save money by bringing better choice from a reputable, long-standing brand that has nostalgia and trust, I think it’s a great win.”
At 14, while still at school, Paton earned £500 a time showing shop owners how they could increase profits by replacing price-sticker guns. He later joined the Royal Navy before studying law at Bournemouth University, where he set up his first company online.
“I decided to set up my first company online which cost me £79.99. It was the best £79.99 I ever spent!” he said.
By his third year at university he employed 27 staff. His businesses moved into technology and ecommerce, leading to OnBuy. Paton put up to £600,000 into the technology, shut down his other businesses and sold the house he planned to move into.
“I basically went from being a relatively high-performing income person to completely broke to get OnBuy off the ground,” he said. “It was like going all-in on a poker game.”
Progress was slow for 18 months. Paton said sales then reached £100,000 a month, rising to £1m a month 18 months later and £10m a month after a further 18 months.
He said one venture capital firm told him in 2017 that it would be surprised if OnBuy ever reached £1m in annual sales, and that the same person later messaged him to say they could not believe they had passed on the opportunity.
