Shaun Derrick, of Coventry, is behind Games for the World – a board game company which sells its titles to consumers across the globe in shops and through the internet.
And in the run-up to June’s European Championships in Austria, Shaun has brought out a new expansion pack for fans of his popular ‘World Cup Game'.
The Euro 2008 edition, which was released in February, has already been selling well with European – and American – buyers, and Shaun is now hoping for a further sales boom during the tournament.
“I thought that with England dipping out of the tournament that the demand for the game may not be so strong – but the interest from countries across Europe has been excellent.
“We translated the game into six different languages to help accessibility and the sales through the internet have been excellent considering the tournament has yet to start.
“I currently run the business alongside a part-time job, but I’m confident that if there is a rush I will be able to handle it!”
The original game, in which players need skill, luck and strategy to succeed, was based on the true events of a previous tournament, ranging from 1930 in Uruguay to 2006 in Germany.
And after seeing a continuing rise in non-UK sales and the success of his website, Shaun decided to make a slight amendment to the game’s rules in order to bring out the latest expansion version.
He said: “The internet has played a big role for us directly and indirectly. Our website provides around 40 per cent of the overall sales, and nearly all the international sales go through it.
“We launched the site when the company began in 2005 and we have integrated a payment system so that visitors can buy directly through us.
“We also worked with The National B2B Centre to maximise our optimisation and we are reaping the benefits of having a top ranking in the search engines.
“Anyone who is selling a product needs to be as high as possible but it seemed like a black art. Now after learning about keywords and reciprocal links, our products feature prominently in the relevant searches.”
James Pennington, of the National B2B Centre – the e-business centre of excellence for the West Midlands, said that by running an effective website, Games for the World can easily maximise the rewards during Euro 2008.
He said: “Any business which will rely on the internet to generate sales needs to have a well functioning website that is well-optimised.
“Shaun has made sure that his website contains the key components to move up the search engine rankings and by doing this well, when there is increased searches during the tournament, he will receive more internet traffic.
“He has also an effective payment system which will ensure a fast turnaround of sales.”
The National B2B Centre is part of WMG at the University of Warwick and funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Advantage West Midlands.
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