Charles Hunt: Why I bought duvets with my car loan

Armed with just the knowledge that "simply moving an item from one country to another could increase its value", entrepreneur Charles Hunt set up a business in 2000 to undercut high-street rivals with low-cost imported goods. It was a smart move.

Charles-Hunt

But "when we started, we didn't have the scale to import goods directly from low-cost countries". So they had to buy from UK-based import agents who charged a hefty mark up, eating into their profit margins. "It wouldn't have been an issue if we had volume, but we struggled to attract customers." Worse still, the mail- order market was "very competitive and we were up against established rivals with much bigger budgets". After four years "still treading water", the pair dissolved the business. They'd learned "lots about retail", but been left "with no cash".

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.