Making it big in America...

Published on 21st June 2007 in News

A risk-taking entrepreneur from Goole is celebrating the fruits of his labour after learning that his innovative business could soon go stateside.

When Paul Telford found a gap in the sex toy market in 1999, he put all of his money - even risking his home - into setting up Emotional Bliss, a company that specialises in a range of intimate massagers, which are specifically designed to fit and respond to a woman's body.

Paul and his team spent five years developing the range, and the products have become the only intimate massagers to be endorsed by marriage guidance charity Relate.

Now chief executive Paul enjoys an annual turnover of around £1m and employs 15 people locally, with offices in Carlisle Street and a distribution depot in Eastrington, and is celebrating the news that the business has expanded to such a degree that there is now a demand from the United States.

The company is considering opening offices and recruiting a dedicated team in the United States after winning an order with US drugstore chain, Walgreens, a move which Paul predicts could double turnover in the coming years.

Paul told the Goole Times this week: "This new deal with Walgreens is a superb opportunity for us. We expect to ship around 5,000 units to the US every month and anticipate that this contract alone will significantly increase the company's turnover over the coming year.

"We are pioneers in this industry and our innovative approach has enabled us to establish a foothold in the US and make us a truly international company.

"It's taken a lot of hard work and commitment from all our staff to take us to a place I only dreamed of when I came up with the idea for the company.

"It's never plain sailing building a company from scratch, especially in a new, previously untested industry, but I believe we are now in an enviable market position."